| You are in: Athletics |
| Monday, 12 August, 2002, 15:29 GMT 16:29 UK Radcliffe facing Athens dilemma ![]() Radcliffe beat a top-class field to take gold in Munich Paula Radcliffe admits she is facing a dilemma over which race to enter in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The British runner ran the second fastest time ever achieved by a woman to take gold in the 10,000m final at the European Athletics Championships in Munich. That equalled her achievement in this year's London Marathon, which she won - again with the second fastest time in history by a woman. She also won gold in the Commonwealth Games 5,000m in Manchester.
Radcliffe told BBC Radio Five Live on Monday that she was unsure about which distance she would attempt in Greece. "When you think that it's the marathon in Athens, which is the home of the marathon, then maybe things change a little bit," she said. "So it's a difficult decision. I would love to win an Olympic marathon, and I would love an Olympic medal on the track, so it's going to be a hard decision." Radcliffe admitted that her work over the longer distances - she also won the World Half Marathon Championships in Bristol in October - had improved her performances at all distances. "Doing the long endurance stuff seems to have given me the strength to sustain the speed," she said. "I think my body is just a lot stronger (thanks to the marathon). "By increasing the long runs, I found that does not take anything away from the speed but increases the strength on the track." Radcliffe's next big test will be the Chicago marathon in October. |
See also: 08 Aug 02 | European Athletics 07 Aug 02 | European Athletics 06 Aug 02 | European Athletics 15 Apr 02 | BBC Pundits 14 Apr 02 | London Marathon 2002 Top Athletics stories now: Links to more Athletics stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Links to more Athletics stories |
![]() | ||
------------------------------------------------------------ BBC News >> | BBC Weather >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII | News Sources | Privacy |