Paula Radcliffe

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Paula Radcliffe

Country	Great Britain
Club	Bedford & County Athletic Club
Date of birth	December 17, 1973 (1973-12-17) (age 34)
Place of birth	Davenham, Cheshire
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	54 kg (120 lb/8.5 st)
Personal Best	5000 m: 14:29.11 10,000 m: 30:01.09 Marathon: 2:15:25
Titles
Olympic Finals:	1996, 5000 m, 5th 2000, 10,000 m, 4th 2004, Marathon, DNF 2004, 10,000 m, DNF
World Finals:	1993, 3000 m, 7th 1997, 5000 m, 4th 1999, 10,000 m, 2 Silver 2001, 10,000 m, 4th 2005, 10,000 m, 9th 2005, Marathon, 1 Gold
Highest World Ranking:	1
Infobox last updated on: 25-08-2007.

Medal record
Women's athletics
World Championships
Gold	2005 Helsinki	Marathon
Silver	1999 Seville	10000 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold	2002 Manchester	5,000 m
European Championships
Gold	2002 Munich	10000 m
EuropeanCup
Gold	1998 Saint Petersburg	5000 m
Gold	1999 Paris	5000 m
Gold	2004 Bydgoszcz	5000 m
Silver	1998 Saint Petersburg	1500 m
Silver	2001 Bremen	5000 m
Bronze	1997 Munich	3000 m
World Half Marathon Championships
Gold	2000 Veracruz	HM
Gold	2001 Bristol	HM
Gold	2003 Vilamoura	HM
World Cross Country Championships
Gold	1992 Boston	Junior
Gold	2001 Ostend	Snr, long
Gold	2002 Dublin	Snr, long
Silver	1997 Turin	Snr, long
Silver	1998 Marrakech	Snr, long
Silver	2001 Ostend	Snr, short
Bronze	1999 Belfast	Snr, long
Marathons
Gold	London Marathon	2002
Gold	Chicago Marathon	2002
Gold	London Marathon	2003
Gold	New York City Marathon	2004
Gold	London Marathon	2005
Gold	New York City Marathon	2007

Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE (born on 17 December 1973 in Davenham, England) is a world class British long-distance runner and currently holds a total of 10 world records.^[1]

Radcliffe's distinctive "nodding" action while running has made her instantly recognisable to British viewers. She is not known for her sprint finish and relies on setting a punishing pace from the start in order to pull away from her opponents and open up an unassailable gap.

In 2002 Radcliffe was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year and in June was awarded an MBE.

Radcliffe now lives as a tax exile in Monaco and is married to her trainer, Gary Lough. They have a daughter named Isla born January, 2007.

Radcliffe's trainer is her husband Gary Lough, a former Irish international 1500 m runner. During his career he ran in the American Collegiate Athletics system, competing for Iowa State Cyclones Track and Field. His best 1500m time came on September 9th, 1995 in the IAAF Monaco Grand Prix, where he ran a time of 3.34.76 min. He also ran 3.57.02 min for 1 mile just 8 days earlier in Berlin.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early Years 1.2 Early career 2 2001 2.1 World Cross-Country Championships 3 2002 3.1 World Cross Country Championships 3.2 London Marathon 3.3 Chicago Marathon 3.4 Order of the British Empire 3.5 BBC Sports Personality of the Year 4 2003 4.1 London Marathon 4.2 World's Best 10k Race 4.3 Great North Run 5 2004 5.1 New York City Marathon 5.2 Olympic Games in Athens 6 2005 6.1 London Marathon 6.2 Helsinki World Championships 6.3 San Silvestre Vallecana 10 Km 7 2006 8 2007 8.1 Bupa Great North Run 8.2 New York City Marathon 9 2008 9.1 London Marathon 10 Other achievements and awards 11 Anti doping 12 Personal life 13 Achievements 14 Personal bests 15 See also 16 References 17 Bibliography 18 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Years

Radcliffe was born on 17 December 1973 in Davenham near Northwich, Cheshire. Her family then moved to nearby Barnton where she attended Little Leigh Primary School.^[2] Despite suffering from asthma and anaemia she took up running at the age of seven, influenced by her father who was a keen amateur marathon runner and joined Frodsham Athletic Club. Her family later moved to Kingsley. At the age of 12 the family moved to Oakley, Bedfordshire where she became a member of Bedford Athletic Club. Her father became club vice-chairman and her mother, a fun-runner, managed the women's cross-country team.^[3]

She attended Sharnbrook Upper School and Community College and studied French, German and economics at Loughborough University, gaining a first-class honours degree in modern European studies.^[4]

[edit] Early career

Her early running success was in cross country events, including the 1992 World Junior title, beating Wang Junxia. She missed the 1994 season through injury, but came back with a succession of good results at 5000 m, including fifth place in both the 1995 World Championships and 1996 Olympic Games. Although a silver-medalist in the 1999 World Championships in Athletics Radcliffe seemed destined never to win a major 5,000 m or 10,000 m title, finishing out of the medals at the 2000 Olympic Games and 2001 World Championships.

[edit] 2001

[edit] World Cross-Country Championships

On 24 March, Radcliffe won the Ostend, Belgium held World Cross Country Championships 2001 title. Radcliffe, who finished in a time of 27mins 49secs, said: "It still hasn't really sunk in." Gete Wami, who came in second place said: "No one likes losing. "But if anyone deserves to win this title it is Paula. She was great."^[5] x

[edit] 2002

[edit] World Cross Country Championships

Held in March in Dublin, Radcliffe defended her title in the Women's Long Race when she won the 2002 IAAF World Cross Country Championships title for a second year. She won in 26min 46sec.^[6]

[edit] London Marathon

In 2002, Radcliffe made the move up to the marathon, a decision that immediately paid off with victory at her debut in that year's London Marathon on 14 April 2002 in a world's best time for a women's only race (2:18:55)^[7] Her time was the second quickest in women's marathon history behind the world record of 2:18:47 set by Catherine Ndereba, of Kenya, in Chicago. ^[8]

[edit] Chicago Marathon

Later that year, Radcliffe set a world record time of 2:17:18 in the Chicago Marathon on 13 October 2002,^[9] breaking the previous record by a minute and a half.

[edit] Order of the British Empire

She was awarded an MBE in June 2002, making it her sixth medal of the season. She said: "It means a great deal to me, it's a great honour and it really tops off an amazing year. "To come here and receive this and to meet The Queen at the end of it just finishes it off perfectly."^[10]

[edit] BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Later the same year she also became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, making her the first woman in over a decade to be honoured with the accolade. Paula thanked her husband Gary Lough, her coach Alex Stanton and her physio, Gerard Hartmann.^[11]

[edit] 2003

[edit] London Marathon

Radcliffe is the current world record holder for the women's marathon, which she set during the 2003 London Marathon in April, with a time of 2:15:25. This mark is currently one of the highest scoring performances ever.^[12] In terms of IAAF world ranking points, at 1307, it is higher in value than Florence Griffith-Joyner's 100 and 200 m records, Marita Koch's 400 m, and Michael Johnsons' 400 m record. This score would equate to between 9.75 s and 9.76 s in the men's 100 m sprint. ^[13] The current world record is 9.72 seconds.

[edit] World's Best 10k Race

Also Radcliffe is the current world record holder for the Women's 10k in a time of 30 minutes and 21 seconds, which she set on February 23, 2003 in the World's Best 10K in San Juan, Puerto Rico.^[14]

[edit] Great North Run

Paula Radcliffe won the Great North Run in a world-best time. She completed the 13.1-mile (21.1 km) half marathon course from Newcastle to South Shields in 65 minutes and 40 seconds.^[15]

[edit] 2004

[edit] New York City Marathon

She won the 2004 New York City Marathon in a time of 2:23:10^[16], even though not fully prepared (the only occasion that a competitor came within a minute of her). Of the seven marathons Radcliffe has run so far, she has won six and set a record in five, building up a claim to be the best female distance runner of all time in her age group. She has run four out of the five fastest times in history in the women's marathon. After a close race with Kenya's Susan Chepkemei, her greater strength allowed her to pull away to victory at the end.^[17]

[edit] Olympic Games in Athens

Radcliffe did not compete in the London Marathon in 2004, but was the favourite to win a gold medal in the marathon at the Olympic Games in Athens. However, she suffered an injury to her leg just two weeks prior to the event and had to use a high dose of anti-inflammatory drugs. This had an adverse effect on her stomach hindering food absorption. The resultant lack of energy and carbohydrates in her system before the start of the race might have led to her distressing withdrawal after 36 km. Five days later she started in the 10,000 metres but, still suffering from the effects of the marathon, retired with eight laps remaining.^[18] Radcliffe said "You go through bad stages in a marathon, but never as bad as that", "I've never before not been able to finish and I'm desperately trying to find a reason for what happened", "I just feel numb - this is something I worked so hard for."^[19]

Regarded as Great Britain's best gold medal hope in athletics, her withdrawal made headlines in the UK, with editorial stances ranging from support to negativity, with some newspapers deriding Radcliffe for 'quitting', rather than going on to finish the race^[20]. Television pictures showed Radcliffe in a clearly distressed state after dropping out of the marathon.^[21]

[edit] 2005

[edit] London Marathon

At the 2005 London Marathon she won with a time of 2:17:42, a world's best time for a women's only race by over a minute. The race however is remembered more for a notorious moment towards the end when Radcliffe, feeling hindered by bowel discomfort and in need for a toilet break, stopped and defecated on the side of the road in view of the crowd and TV cameras which broadcast the incident live^[22]. After the race she apologised to viewers and explained what happened, "I was losing time because I was having stomach cramps and I thought 'I just need to go and I'll be fine'. I didn’t really want to resort to that in front of hundreds of thousands of people.^[23] Basically I needed to go. I started feeling it between 15 and 16 miles (26 km) and probably carried on too long before stopping. I must have eaten too much beforehand". In November 2006, the incident was voted top running moment in history in the UK from a choice of ten 'unforgettable moments' [3].

[edit] Helsinki World Championships

On 14 August 2005 at the World Championships held in Helsinki, Finland she won Britain's only gold medal when she took the marathon title, dominating the race and setting a championship record time of 2:20:57. Catherine Ndereba of Kenya finished in second place, more than a minute behind. Radcliffe said: "It pretty much went according to plan. If somebody had been with me at the end I think I could have pushed it up a bit more." She and three other British runners were also awarded third place Bronze in the team competition.^[24]

[edit] San Silvestre Vallecana 10 Km

New Years Eve 2005 Radcliffe won the San Silvestre Vallecana, a 10 km race in the borough of Vallecas, Madrid, Spain. She said: "I'm okay and it is a great way to end 2005 - with a win."^[25]

[edit] 2006

Radcliffe took a break through the 2006 season due to injuries and in July announced that she was expecting her first child. Her comeback was further delayed in 2007 due to a stress fracture in her lower back.^[26]

Radcliffe chose not to defend her world marathon crown in 2007, in order to undertake further rehabilitation, but insisted she wanted to compete in the next two Olympic Games.

[edit] 2007

[edit] Bupa Great North Run

She made her return to competitive running on 30 September 2007, Radcliffe took part in the BUPA Great North Run in the UK on Tyneside. This was her first race in almost two years. She succeeded in gaining second place beaten by the US runner Kara Goucher over the half-marathon distance.^[27]

[edit] New York City Marathon

She made her marathon return at the New York City Marathon on the 4 November 2007 which she won with an official time of 2:23:09.^[28] She has stated that a start at the World Cross Country Championships at Edinburgh is a possibility.^[29]

[edit] 2008

[edit] London Marathon

She withdrew from the London Marathon ^[30] due to a foot injury.

[edit] Other achievements and awards

• Awarded the BBC London Sports Awards 2003 for 'Sporting Moment of the Year'.^[31]
• Radcliffe has set numerous records, official and unofficial, on the track and the roads. As of October 2007, she holds the official world record for 10 km on roads. She has twice won the World Half-Marathon championships, twice the World Cross-Country championships (in 2001 and 2002), and in December 2003 became European Cross-Country champion for the second time, the only woman to have achieved this feat in the event's ten-year history.
• Forced out of the Paris World Athletics Championships because of injury in 2003, her greatest moment on the track has been European gold at 10,000 m in 2002. Hindered by back-markers, and in the rain, she nevertheless ran a time of 30:01.09 (a European record by 12 seconds, and second only to Wang Junxia's controversial world record time of 29:31.78 set in Beijing [4] ). The same year she won Commonwealth Games gold in the 5000 m, missing the world record by three seconds.
• Paula was nominated for the sports personality award in 2007.
• She won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year award in early 2008 for her performances in 2007.^[32]

[edit] Anti doping

Radcliffe's athletic ability and commitment to training are accompanied by a strong belief in playing by the rules. She has frequently made high-profile condemnations of performance-enhancing drugs in athletics, most famously at the World Athletics Championships in Edmonton in 2001 when Radcliffe and team-mate Hayley Tullett held up a sign protesting against the reinstatement of Russian athlete Olga Yegorova, after Yegorova had tested positive for the banned substance EPO. Radcliffe also wears a red ribbon when competing to show her support for blood testing as a method of catching drugs cheats.

[edit] Personal life

Radcliffe married her coach, British former international 1500 m runner Gary Lough.^[33] in April 2000 in Bedford. At age 33, she gave birth to her first child. Daughter, Isla, born on January 17, 2007 at 9:43 a.m. at the Princess Grace Hospital, in Monaco after a gruelling 27-hour labour.^[34]

[edit] Achievements

Year	Tournament	Venue	Result	Event
1991	World Junior Cross Country Championships	Antwerp, Belgium	15th	Junior Cross Country
1992	World Junior Cross Country Championships	Boston, USA	1st	Junior Cross Country
1992	World Junior Championships	Seoul, South Korea	4th	3000 m
1993	World Cross Country Championships	Amorebieta, Spain	18th	Cross Country
1993	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	7th	3000 m
1995	World Cross Country Championships	Durham, England	18th	Cross Country
1995	World Championships	Gothenburg, Sweden	5th	5000 m
1995	Grand Prix Final	Monaco	4th	3000 m
1996	World Cross Country Championships	Stellenbosch, South Africa	19th	Cross Country
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.	5th	5000 m
1996	Grand Prix Final	Milan, Italy	4th	5000 m
1997	World Cross Country Championships	Turin, Italy	2nd	Cross Country
1997	European Cup	Munich, Germany	3rd	3000 m
1997	World Championships	Athens, Greece	4th	5000 m
1997	Grand Prix Final	Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan	3rd	5000 m
1998	World Cross Country Championships	Marrakech, Morocco	2nd	Cross Country
1998	European Cup	Saint Petersburg, Russia	1st	5000 m
1998	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	5th	10000 m
1999	World Cross Country Championships	Belfast, Northern Ireland	3rd	Cross Country
1999	European Cup	Paris, France	1st	5000 m
1999	World Championships	Seville, Spain	2nd	10000 m
1999	Grand Prix Final	Munich, Germany	4th	3000 m
2000	World Cross Country Championships	Vilamoura, Portugal	4th	Short Cross Country
2000	World Cross Country Championships	Vilamoura, Portugal	5th	Long Cross Country
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	4th	10000 m
2000	World Half Marathon Championships	Veracruz, Mexico	1st	Half Marathon
2001	World Cross Country Championships	Ostend, Belgium	2nd	Short Cross Country
2001	World Cross Country Championships	Ostend, Belgium	1st	Long Cross Country
2001	European Cup	Bremen, Germany	2nd	5000 m
2001	World Championships	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	4th	10000m
2001	Bristol Half Marathon	Bristol, England	1st	Half Marathon
2002	World Cross Country Championships	Dublin, Ireland	1st	Long Cross Country
2002	London Marathon	London, England	1st	Marathon
2002	Commonwealth Games	Manchester, England	1st	5000m
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	1st	10000m
2002	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	1st	Marathon
2003	London Marathon	London, England	1st	Marathon
2003	World Half Marathon Championships	Vilamoura, Portugal	1st	Half Marathon
2003	Great North Run	Tyne and Wear, England	1st	Half Marathon
2004	European Cup	Bydgoszcz, Poland	1st	5000m
2004	New York City Marathon	New York, New York, U.S.	1st	Marathon
2005	London Marathon	London, England	1st	Marathon
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1st	Marathon
2007	Great North Run	Tyne and Wear, England	2nd	Half Marathon
2007	New York City Marathon	New York, New York, U.S.	1st	Marathon

[edit] Personal bests

Surface	Event	Time	Date	Place	Extra
Track	400 m	58.9	1992
	800 m	2:05.22	1995
	1000 m	2:47.17	1993
	1500 m	4:05.37	1 July 2001	Glasgow, UK
	1 Mile	4:24.94	14 August 1996	Zürich, Switzerland
	2000 m	5:37.01+	29 August 1993	Sheffield, UK
	3000 m	8:22.20	19 July 2002	Monaco	UK record
	2 Miles	9:17.4	23 May 1999	Loughborough, UK
	4000 m	11:35.21+
	5000 m	14:29.11	20 June 2004	Bydgoszcz, Poland	UK record Fifth best performance ever
	10 000 m	30:01.09	6 August 2002	Munich, Germany	European record Second best performance ever
Road	5 km	14:57+	2 September 2001	London, UK
	4 Miles	19:51+
	5 Miles	24:47+
	8 km	24:05+			World best (unratifiable)
	10 km	30:21	23 February 2003	San Juan, Puerto Rico	World record
	15 km	46:41+	7 October 2001	Bristol, UK	UK record (unratifiable) Downhill
	10 Miles	50:01+	13 October 2002	Chicago, USA	World best (unratifiable) Downhill
	20 km	1:02.21+	21 September 2003	Newcastle - South Shields, UK	World best (unratifiable) Downhill
	Half marathon	1:05:40	21 September 2003	Newcastle - South Shields, UK	World best (unratifiable) Downhill
	25 km	1:20.36+	13 April 2003	London, UK	World best (unratifiable)
	30 km	1:36:36+	13 April 2003	London, UK	World best (unratifiable)
	20 Miles	1:43:33+	13 April 2003	London, UK	World best (unratifiable)
	Marathon	2:15:25	13 April 2003	London, UK	World record

[edit] See also

• Long-distance track event

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Paula: My Story So Far (Paula Radcliffe with David Walsh) ISBN 0-7432-5242-X^[1]

[edit] External links

• IAAF profile for Paula Radcliffe
• Paula Radcliffe Official Website
• Paula Radcliffe training video 1
• Paula Radcliffe training video 2
• Paula Radcliffe 'bionic' kit, (August 14, 2005)
• Paula Radcliffe: One Track Mind, (April 16, 2005)
• Paula Radcliffe: Long Road Back, (October 31, 2004)
• Paula Radcliffe: Failing to finish at the 2004 Olympic Games, (August 22, 2004)
• Paula Radcliffe: Journey from Disappointing Fourth to Dominant First, (June, 2004)
• Paula Radcliffe: Escorting Paula, (April, 2003)
• Paula Radcliffe: A Guardian interview about drug use in sport, (August 20, 2001)

Records
Preceded by Catherine Ndereba	Women's Marathon World Record Holder October 13, 2002 –	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by David Beckham	BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2002	Succeeded by Jonny Wilkinson
Preceded by Stacy Dragila	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2002	Succeeded by Hestrie Cloete
Sporting positions
Preceded by Derartu Tulu	IAAF Women's World Cross Country Champion 2001 – 2002	Succeeded by Werknesh Kidane
Preceded by Olga Yegorova	Women's 5,000 m Best Year Performance 2002	Succeeded by Birhane Adere
Preceded by Derartu Tulu	London Women's Marathon Winner 2002 – 2003	Succeeded by Margaret Okayo
Preceded by Catherine Ndereba	Chicago Women's Marathon Winner 2002	Succeeded by Svetlana Zakharova
Preceded by Catherine Ndereba	Women's Fastest Marathon Race 2002 – 2003	Succeeded by Yoko Shibui
Preceded by Margaret Okayo	New York City Women's Marathon Winner 2004	Succeeded by Jeļena Prokopčuka
Preceded by Margaret Okayo	London Women's Marathon Winner 2005	Succeeded by Deena Kastor
Preceded by Yoko Shibui	Women's Fastest Marathon Race 2005	Succeeded by Deena Kastor
Preceded by Jeļena Prokopčuka	New York City Women's Marathon Winner 2007	Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners 1954-1959 1954 Christopher Chataway · 1955 Gordon Pirie · 1956 Jim Laker · 1957 Dai Rees · 1958 Ian Black · 1959 John Surtees 1960-1969 1960 David Broome · 1961 Stirling Moss · 1962 Anita Lonsbrough · 1963 Dorothy Hyman · 1964 Mary Rand · 1965 Tom Simpson · 1966 Bobby Moore · 1967 Henry Cooper · 1968 David Hemery · 1969 Ann Jones 1970-1979 1970 Henry Cooper · 1971 HRH The Princess Anne · 1972 Mary Peters · 1973 Jackie Stewart · 1974 Brendan Foster · 1975 David Steele · 1976 John Curry · 1977 Virginia Wade · 1978 Steve Ovett · 1979 Sebastian Coe 1980-1989 1980 Robin Cousins · 1981 Ian Botham · 1982 Daley Thompson · 1983 Steve Cram · 1984 Jayne Torvill / Christopher Dean · 1985 Barry McGuigan · 1986 Nigel Mansell · 1987 Fatima Whitbread · 1988 Steve Davis · 1989 Nick Faldo 1990-1999 1990 Paul Gascoigne · 1991 Liz McColgan · 1992 Nigel Mansell · 1993 Linford Christie · 1994 Damon Hill · 1995 Jonathan Edwards · 1996 Damon Hill · 1997 Greg Rusedski · 1998 Michael Owen · 1999 Lennox Lewis 2000-2009 2000 Steve Redgrave · 2001 David Beckham · 2002 Paula Radcliffe · 2003 Jonny Wilkinson · 2004 Kelly Holmes · 2005 Andrew Flintoff · 2006 Zara Phillips · 2007 Joe Calzaghe

World Champions in Women's Marathon
1983: Grete Waitz | 1987: Rosa Mota | 1991: Wanda Panfil | 1993: Junko Asari | 1995: Manuela Machado | 1997: Hiromi Suzuki | 1999: Jong Song-Ok | 2001: Lidia Simon | 2003: Catherine Ndereba | 2005: Paula Radcliffe| 2007: Catherine Ndereba