Olympic triathlon gold medalist Alex Yee plans to race the London Marathon on April 27, becoming the latest star from his sport to give 26.2 miles a try.
“Taking part in a full marathon has always been an itch I’ve wanted to scratch, and there isn’t any another place than London that I would want to start that journey,” Yee said in a press release.
Yee, 26, followed Tokyo Olympic silver with gold in Paris in the triathlon. The Olympic triathlon distance is a .93-mile swim, a 24.85-mile bike and a 6.21-mile run.
“If the planets align, I’d love to run in the ballpark of 2 hours, 7 (minutes) to 2:10,” Yee said of the marathon, according to the Guardian.
Two British marathoners in history have broken 2:07: Mo Farah (personal best 2:05:11) and Emile Cairess (2:06:46).
Other Olympic triathlon gold medalists have moved up to the marathon.
American Gwen Jorgensen won the 2016 Rio Olympic triathlon, then placed 14th in the New York City Marathon three months later. She moved back to the triathlon two years ago.
Others have moved up to the Ironman triathlon distance — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and then a marathon run.
German Jan Frodeno, the 2008 Olympic triathlon gold medalist, won Ironman Kona world titles in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
