The Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee has become the second-fastest British marathon runner in history after a stunning run in Valencia.
The 27-year-old finished seventh in a strong field in a time of two hours, six mins and 38 seconds – quicker than any Briton in history apart from Mo Farah, who ran 2:05:11 in Chicago in 2018.
It was a remarkable performance, especially given Yee only took up the marathon this year as a mini-sabbatical from triathlon after he won gold in Paris. As Yee crossed the line he roared to the skies before placing his hands to his head, in disbelief at the time he had just achieved.
It also came after Yee’s first attempt over 26.2 miles in London in April had not gone entirely to plan after a series of illnesses had interrupted his preparations. After finishing in 2:11:08, he admitted: “God damn, marathon is hard”.
However Yee, who has always had serious running pedigree, having competed for Britain over 10,000m at the European championships as a 20-year-old, felt he had more to give.
His training posts in the buildup to Valencia, where he had run alongside seasoned marathon runners Emile Cairess and Phil Sesemann, suggested that he had put in the miles and sessions to go much quicker. And so it proved.
Paced by Cairess, who had finished fourth in the Olympic marathon in Paris and has a personal best of 2:06:46, Yee looked comfortable as he went through halfway in 1:03.32.
And despite warmer-than-ideal conditions, with temperatures climbing into the mid-teens, he still had plenty left in the tank to run the second half in a negative split of 1:03:06.
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The chances of Yee breaking Farah’s record are slim. He has promised to return to his main sport full time next year, and the likelihood is that he will not run another marathon until after the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
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