Ankle injury forces 2024 London Marathon bronze medallist to withdraw from the 2025 event, while Lucy Reid also pulls out
Emile Cairess has been forced to withdraw from the 2025 TCS London Marathon due to an ankle injury.
The British athlete, who finished third at the 2024 event and fourth in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games marathon has been suffering from an ankle tendon issue which has hindered his preparation for this year’s event.
With the condition persisting, Cairess has made the decision to withdraw from the event in the capital and focus on a full recovery.
“I was really looking forward to racing the world’s best marathon runners at this year’s TCS London Marathon and to build on the progress I have made over the marathon distance,” said Cairess. “It is an absolutely stacked elite men’s field at this year’s event which makes it a really hard one to miss.
“But, unfortunately, a setback in my build-up has persisted which has significantly impacted the consistency of training that is required to be at my best. My focus now is recovering properly, getting back to full training, and returning to racing as soon as possible.”
Emile Cairess (LM Events)
Cairess made his debut over 26.2 miles at the 2023 London Marathon where he finished sixth in 2:08:07, becoming the fastest British debutant of all time over the famous distance.
The 27-year-old followed that up by finishing third at last year’s event in 2:06:46. His time made him the second-fastest British marathon runner of all time behind Mo Farah.
Despite the withdrawal of Cairess, the men’s elite field is still as strong as ever. The race will include the legendary duo of Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, new world half-marathon record-holder Jacob Kiplimo and defending champion Alexander Mutiso Munyao.
British interest includes Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee and Paris Olympian Mahamed Mahamed, who finished fourth behind Cairess at last year’s event, and another British Olympian Phil Sesemann.
There has also been a British withdrawal in the elite women’s race where Lucy Reid, who was set to make her London Marathon debut after running 2:26:35 on her marathon debut in Malaga last December, has been forced to pull out due to an injury.
Lucy Reid (Richard Owen)
The 32-year-old’s time was recorded as the third quickest marathon debut by a British female athlete in history, a mark which put her 14th on the UK all-time list over 26.2 miles.
The elite women’s field will include, for the first time in history, three women with personal bests of faster than 2:14 with world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, and Tigist Assefa all lining up.
Other athletes in the field include reigning champion Peres Jepchirchir and Britain’s Eilish McColgan, who is set to make her long-awaited London Marathon debut.
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