• Olympic triathlon champion runs 2:06:38 in Valencia

• The only faster time by a Briton is Farah’s 2:05:11 in 2018

Alex Yee, the Olympic triathlon champion, has become the second-fastest British marathon runner in history with a stunning run in Valencia. The 27-year-old finished seventh in a strong field in a time of 2hr 6min 38sec, 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 took up the marathon only 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.

• Plan was introduced to reduce number of foul jumps

• ‘Athletes do not want to embrace it,’ says Jon Ridgeon

World Athletics has scrapped plans to introduce a takeoff zone for the long jump rather than the traditional board because of widespread hostility from athletes.

Jon Ridgeon, the governing body’s chief executive, said that while the proposals had gone well in trials, “you ultimately do not want to go to war with your most important group of people”.