St Mary’s Alum Becomes GB’s Best Olympic Marathon Finisher in 20 Years

St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) and Endurance Performance Centre (EPC) alum, Emile Cairess, has become Team GB’s best Olympic marathon finisher in 20 years after placing fourth in the men’s race at the Paris Olympics.

Emile ran the marathon in a time of 2:07:29, just 29 seconds behind Kenya’s Benson Kipruto who took the Bronze medal.

The men’s marathon saw 71 athletes finish the race, with Emile’s GB teammates Phil Sesemann and Mahamed Mahamed finishing 46th and 57th respectively.

Emile was in a strong position throughout the race, running in second position at the 30km mark. He later dropped back to sixth before outrunning two competitors to claim fourth place at the finish line.

Earlier this year, Emile was the first-placed Briton at the 2024 London Marathon, running the second fastest British marathon time ever at 2:06:46. Fellow EPC alumnus and four-time Olympic Gold medal winner Sir Mo Farah currently holds the record with a time of 2:05:11.

Speaking on Emile’s Paris performance, Head of Sport St Mary’s Andrew Reid-Smith said, “Emile was an outstanding athlete for St Mary’s, he won BUCS Championships on the track and in a memorably tight finish in the XC at Exeter.

"To see how Emile has progressed into a world-class athlete, and his performances this year has been brilliant. A third place in the London marathon in the second fastest time ever by a British runner, and then an even better run at the Paris Games. The way he ran on a very tough course to finish fourth in his first Olympic marathon, was incredible.

"Congratulations to Emile, it will be exciting to watch him continue to develop over the marathon distance and see him target more amazing times.”

The Paris 2024 Games has seen 14 St Mary’s athletes selected to compete for Great Britain, France, and Jamaica, with alums Beth Potter and Aaron Grandidier taking home medals. Beth won two Bronze medals for Team GB in the Women’s Triathlon and Mixed Relay Triathlon races, while alumnus and former sport scholar Aaron Grandidier won a Gold Medal for France in the Rugby Sevens.

St Mary’s has a history of success at recent Olympic and Paralympic Games. Athletes, alumni, and students from SMU have won a Gold medal at every Games since Beijing 2008. In total the University has seen 51 athletes take part in the last four Olympic and Paralympic Games, with some representing multiple events, winning 17 medals for their nations prior to Paris 2024.