Filed under: Athletics, Olympics
Paula Radcliffe has already suffered doubts over whether she will be fit to take part in what would be the perfect swansong to her marvellous career in next year's Olympic Games, doubts that will be more intense than ever after her miserable return to action in the Bupa London 10,000m.Finishing third on her comeback after an 18-month absence is not necessarily the most dreadful result she could have feared since all athletes take time to get back up to speed after such a long spell out of action.
But the fact that Radcliffe finished almost a minute behind winner Jo Pavey as she tried to ease her way back into competitive racing, after the birth of her second child and a succession of injuries, clearly indicates there is more work to be done.
Issues run deeper than the stopwatch against which she has raced for so long. Physically she is hurting and will be 38 when the Olympic marathon comes around next year.
More crucially there is the mental battle she faces to haul herself back into shape and the fact she was so distraught in the immediate aftermath of her return offered a worrying insight into her frame of mind.
Describing the return as "a bit of a disaster" was an understandable reaction. The fact she was so low, equally so.
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