Leeds Doctor Phil Sesemann ran the London Marathon and qualified for the European Championships after coming seventh on his first attempt.
Remarkably, the junior doctor completed the 26.2 mile run in just two hours, twelve minutes and 58 seconds - a time that secured qualification for the European Championships and Commonwealth Games.
Sesemann has been training with his dog Kipchoge, aptly named after marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge. Kipchoge the spaniel cross has her own Strava account and regularly completes eighty miles of exercise a week alongside her owner.
According to Sesemann, "she seems to love it, but she doesn't get a choice".
Sesemann and Kipchoge training in the weeks leading up to the London Marathon. Image: Instagram
This was Sesemann's first attempt at the London Marathon, yet his impressive time was less than ten minutes behind marathon winner Sisay Lemma. The thirty-year-old from Ethiopia completed the marathon in two hours four minutes and one second.
Due to coming into contact with a fellow racer that tested positive for Covid-19, Lemma was not able to enjoy his success on the podium and left to return to their hotel after finishing the marathon - forcing his manager to take his place.
This was also a considerable fear for Sesemann, having worked in St James' and Leeds General Infirmary during the Covid-19 pandemic in the accident and emergency department, he would have been fully aware of the physical impact that the disease can have when training or participating in such events.
The Leeds doctor had been minimising his risk of catching the disease during the lead-up to the marathon.
"It wouldn't be worth it", noted Sesemann in an interview after his marathon success.
As the A&E doctor celebrated his win, he also is celebrated his 29th birthday on the tracks. With a crowd of half a million bystanders, this will certainly be a birthday to remember.
Sesemann ran alongside almost 36,000 other participants from Blackheath to the Mall but a further 35,000 runners are expected to have finished the virtual London Marathon.
It is thought that the London Marathon 2021 will now hold the world record for the number of runners taking part in a single marathon. The previous record was held by New York, but an announcement should be made later today if London 2021 has broken the record.
After closing for the entire second day, The Warehouse stage at Leeds Festival has once again been forced to evacuate.
One of the most anticipated dance acts of the day has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns just moments before the set.
Sheffield DJ Silva Bumpa was due to take to The Warehouse stage today at 1:30pm, but the set was cancelled due to overcrowding.
It's not the first time this has happened at Leeds Festival 2026, as yesterday Omar+'s set was cancelled due to the same issue and the stage was subsequently closed for the rest of the day.
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Silva Bumpa said: "So so sorry Leeds Fest but due to over crowding my set was cancelled last min I was just behind the stage and got told right before such a massive shame."
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading on Friday afternoon, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
If yesterday is anything to go by, we wouldn't be surprised if The Warehouse was closed for the rest of the day which means anticipated sets from Rossi and Mall Grab will also be cancelled.
‘Actually lost for words’ – huge artist speaks out as Leeds Festival set is cancelled due to overcrowding
Clementine Hall
For the second day in a row, a huge set has been cancelled due to overcrowding at Reading and Leeds Festival.
Day two of the festival and there's some pretty disappointed ravers hanging their head as one of the biggest dance music sets of the day is cancelled.
Omar+, a rising British electronic DJ and producer, was due to play on the brand-new Warehouse stage at Reading yesterday and Leeds today.
Yesterday's set was cancelled last minute due to overcrowding, and low and behold the same has happened here in Leeds.
Announcing the sad news to his story, Omar+ said "Actually lost for words. My Leeds set has been cancelled due to overcrowding."
He then went on to show a screenshot of a text message, reading: "I've never seen something like this in my entire life where two shows back to back are cancelled due to overcrowding."
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading yesterday, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
Sophie Smith -
4th October 2021 
