England marathon athletes among first selected for Paris 2024
We are delighted to announce the first athletes selected for the Paris 2024 athletics team are six English marathon runners. All six are set to compete at their first Olympic Games this summer.
In the women’s race, two athletes will compete having qualified with the identical time of 2:22:17. Charlotte Purdue (Aldershot, Farnham & District, Nic Bideau) achieved this time at the Berlin marathon, Germany, whilst Calli Haugher-Thackery (Hallamshire) achieved this at the McKirdy Micro marathon, USA. The third female athlete selected is Rose Harvey (Alistair Cragg, Clapham Chasers) who has qualified after running 2:23:21 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, and more recently posting 71:59 at the Nice Half Marathon in April.
Phil Sesemann (Leeds City, Andrew Henderson) was the first male selected having run inside the qualification standard at the Seville marathon in February this year to earn his place on the team. His fantastic time of 2:08:04 also saw him named the March TASS Athlete of the Month for achieving the marathon qualification time. Having set the fastest long leg time of the day, he also helped Leeds City secure the men’s title at the recent ERRA Road Relay Championships - showing his versatility as an endurance athlete.
Joining Phil will be fellow Leeds teammate Emile Cairess (Renato Canova) and Mahamed Mahamed (Southampton, Idris Hamud) after storming to third and fourth place at the recent 2024 TCS London Marathon. Not only did they secure their spot on the team for Paris, but Cairess and Mahamed also wrote their names into the British marathon history books sitting in second (2:06:46) and third (2:07:05) respectively behind only Sir Mo Farah.
Calli, Mahamed, Phil and Rose are all supported by the England Athletics Senior Programme receiving support through the Talent Hub performance support services as a result of our joint investment with London Marathon Events and TASS.
England Athletics’ Head of Talent Development, Sarah Benson, spoke of the debutant Olympians:
“It is fantastic to see the first athletes announced ahead of an exciting summer of action with both the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"We are immensely proud of all six athletes, with four of those selected currently members of our Senior Programme and Charlotte having won many England titles at our championships throughout her career. We are overjoyed to have been part of their journeys as they have progressed through the junior ranks on to the international stage due to support from a vast network of clubs, coaches, Talent Hub services, staff and facilities who all cannot wait to show their support this summer."
“The partnership with London Marathon Events and TASS investing in the Talent Hub network has played a significant role in creating the training environments to enable the athletes in achieving Olympic selection. As we look forward to the Games, we are also excited to celebrate the upcoming selection announcements of not only the Olympic and Paralympic athletes, but also the technical officials who will represent in Paris this summer.”
The marathon will follow a route rich in Parisian history passing by many iconic French landmarks, including the Hôtel de Ville, Palace of Versailles and Eiffel Tower. It is an event not to be missed on 10 and 11 August, as we watch Calli, Charlotte, Emile, Mahamed, Phil, and Rose competing against the world’s best.
Everyone at England Athletics wishes these athletes all the best for the summer.