Alex Yee's message to London Marathon first-timers as Olympic legend eyes debut

Alex Yee says he feels no sense of pressure at tomorrow morning’s TCS London Marathon - because he is just like 40,000 others taking on the race for the first time.

The most successful triathlete in Olympic history describes his flirtation with the "magical distance" as both a “lifelong dream” and an experiment as he strives to get stronger than ever to defend his gold medal at Los Angeles 2028.

But that has not stopped expectation building around how Yee competes around the streets of the capital this morning - with betting markets available on whether he can run faster than Mo Farah.

That seems improbable but philosophical Yee, speaking like his idol Eliud Kipchoge, insists his top priority is enjoying the process rather than registering an eye-catching personal best.

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“It feels like a lot of people are excited about how I do and it’s quite nice in a way that I can share my story with as many people as possible,” Yee said. “But I’ll line up alongside 40,000 other people as a complete novice, doing a first marathon.

“It’s exciting and if I can share that my journey hasn’t been linear, I’ve had my struggles and illnesses, that’s rewarding. I want to show people it’s accessible but that I’m also facing an unknown.”

Yee has also recently started documenting his training on with a series of 30-minute clips taking fans behind the scenes.

“I’ve probably been a bit resistant to it in the last few years because I’ve very much knuckled down to get everything out of my body to win gold,” he adds. “Now I’m in a position where I feel a small obligation to the sport and people to show what we do is possible.

“I grew up working hard at my sport and there’s no reason why others can’t as well. I grew up putting athletes on a pedestal that I didn’t think I could reach. But I want people to grow up now thinking they can be the next Alex Yee. Hopefully it brings some accessibility to the elite level.

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In a race for the British title he will be joined by Olympians Mahamed Mahamed and Phil Sesemann, both of whom are shooting for personal bests.

Sesemann recently became a father so has chosen to do all his training from home rather than at altitude in Kenya. “It is a little bit more similar to my first marathon build, no training camps, no altitude, just been in Leeds running up and down the canal,” he said.

Yet the absence of Sesemann’s close pal Emile Cairess, widely tipped to eventually beat Mo Farah’s British record, is a blow. Cairess, fourth in the Olympics and third here last year, withdrew several weeks ago because of injury but is aiming for September’s World Championships and has recently been training with Jakob Ingebrigtsen at altitude in Spain.