Britain's Emile Cairess stuns with third in London Marathon and dedicates race to cousin in coma

Emile Cairess devoted his remarkable performance during the London Marathon to his cousin, who got into a car wreck earlier this year and suffered a coma.

Cairess came in third with the second-fastest time achieved by a British male runner, completing the race in 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 46 seconds. This result likely solidifies his position on Great Britain's team for the upcoming Olympic games.

However, Cairess was primarily concerned about his 22-year-old cousin, Oliver Burton, who remains hospitalized but has been released from intensive care.

Cairess, aged 26, stated that her younger cousin holds a special place in her heart and feels like a younger sibling to her. Unfortunately, a few months ago, he was involved in a serious accident.

After being in a state of unconsciousness for roughly a month, he has recently been released from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The situation was quite tense and uncertain at times, causing a lot of stress. However, in the past few weeks, his recovery has been outstanding.

I was feeling quite overwhelmed this morning. I am optimistic that I have done something that has made him feel satisfied today.

Without noticing, Cairess came in third place, following the victor Alexander Munyao from Kenya and 41-year-old Kenenisa Bekele, until he was approximately 200m away from the end of the course.

"I was informed via the loudspeaker," he stated. "Within a minute, I encountered around four individuals near the 39km point and assumed that I had passed a number of people from the leading group."

"I thought to myself, 'there must not be many competitors remaining, so my position ought to be good.' However, I was uncertain and speculated if maybe I was in 6th or 7th place. The moment I found out that I came in third place, it was truly an exhilarating experience."

Mahamed Mahamed, a person from the United Kingdom, came in fourth place. This is the initial occurrence since Kevin Forster and Hugh Jones in 1988 that two British runners have finished in the top four.

In the final moments of the race, Mahamed was almost able to beat his teammate Cairess. However, even though he couldn't quite catch up to him, Mahamed still managed to run fast enough to qualify for the Olympics.

Cairess stated that he and Mahamed have been competing against each other since they were 13 years old, and therefore, have always been very close in skill.

It's great to see him doing well, especially since we've always advanced side by side. Numerous individuals quit the sport, however we persevered and our determination is finally bearing fruit.

Munyao successfully left behind the experienced runner Bekele, who was aiming for a victory at the London Marathon, which he has not achieved in the last 20 years since winning the Olympic 10,000m race. This happened when there were approximately three miles left in the marathon.

He stated that when he had reached the 40km mark, he felt confident he could emerge as the winner of the race. He considers this achievement to be the most significant in his professional career as it marks his inaugural victory in a major marathon.

I felt a bit scared since I am aware that Bekele can pose a challenge, nonetheless, I was self-assured during the final kilometers.

Prior to the commencement of both the men's and mass races, respects were shown to Kelvin Kiptum, the previous year's champion who sadly passed away in a vehicular accident during February.

Peres Jepchirchir, who is an Olympic champion, demolished the world record for women's-only marathon events and emerged victorious in a thrilling women's race.

The runner from Kenya accelerated towards the finish line on The Mall and claimed victory in 2 minutes and 16.16 seconds.

At the end of the track, there were four runners contending for the victory. Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia finished in second place, leaving Joyciline Jepkosgel in third and Megertu Alemu in fourth.

In the London women-only race held in 2017, Mary Jepkosgei Keitany set the previous world record by completing the race in 2 hours, 17 minutes, and 1 second.

Jepchirchir expressed her joy at winning today. She was surprised by breaking the world record for running. She didn't anticipate being the one to accomplish it, though she believed it was possible for someone else.

Marcel Hug, also known as the Swiss 'Silver Bullet', achieved a remarkable feat by winning his fourth consecutive men's wheelchair race. The 38-year-old athlete finished the race in 1:28.33, setting a new record.

In the recent London Marathon race, David Weir from Britain secured the third position while Daniel Romanchuk from the United States captured the second spot. This London Marathon was special for Weir as it marked his 25th consecutive participation in the event.

Weir, who is 44 years old, stated that racing alongside Marcel for 20 miles was one of the most enjoyable races he's experienced on this particular course.

"I noticed that a few of these individuals are way younger than me, with a gap of 10-20 years. Nonetheless, I made a commitment to myself that I would return and secure a place on the podium."

Catherine Debrunner, who is also Swiss, won the women's wheelchair race by a significant margin.