Paula Radcliffe Still Has Time to End Her Glorious Career with Olympic Gold

Filed under: Other Sports, Athletics

Every May, Paula Radcliffe shows up in London's Battersea Park to back the Race for Life cancer fund-raiser in support of her mother, who is in remission from the disease.

The world marathon record holder gives her time freely like the grounded person she is, posing for photos, chatting with women running - or walking - to raise money, frequently in memory of a deceased family member.

I go too, to support a loved one and usually get to speak to Paula, so approachable is she. This year, however, she was distracted, edgy. Something was wrong.

It became clear why in the build-up to the weekend's Berlin marathon, which would be make or break for her career.

Her training had been going badly, she was feeling acutely every strain and niggle, every back pain and sore throat. She could not understand why she was so under the weather, she said in the run-up to Berlin. She felt like quitting and would throw her kit at her husband Gary in anger and frustration.

Finally she was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. There came the relief of knowing what was wrong. Once she had rested and recovered, she felt ready again to put in the miles of training necessary.

The result was third place in Berlin but more important, achieving the qualifying time for the British team for next year's Olympic Games in London. In fact, her time of 2 hours 23 minutes and 46 seconds was more than seven minutes inside qualifying.

Radcliffe professed her disappointment that she had only finished third but there was clearly relief on her face and in her voice. It was her first marathon finish for almost two years and banished also the memory of a slow 10 kilometre appearance in London in the spring to begin her summer of doubt.

There will be those who will wonder what the fuss is about with Radcliffe and who will still see her as a spent force, at the age of 37.

She remains, though, a class athlete - and Britain has few enough of them - who deserves respect for her dedication and dogged determination to extract the most of her talent, balancing the needs of two small children with her demanding career.

After all she has been through - the two Olympics in Athens when she had stomach trouble and withdrew and Beijing when she struggled with injury and finished 23rd - you hope that Radcliffe will be on the start line in London fit and healthy.

If she is, she will surely be among the gold medal contenders. Once seen as someone who ran for the money, rather than peaking for major championships, she will be gearing herself for London and London alone over the next 10 months.

I believe Radcliffe will end a glorious career with gold - after such strife, it will be one of those amazing sporting redemptions. After being written off, she has the character to rise again.

The evidence? The women's marathon was won in Beijing in 2 hours 26 min 44 sec by Constantina Dita-Tomescu. While all marathon courses are different Radcliffe ran almost three minutes quicker than that in Berlin. And she will be 38 next year - the same as when the Romanian won her gold.

 

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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/09/29/paula-radcliffe-olympics-marathon/

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