Paula Radcliffe’s key to success: “Laughter and a smile”
Wouldn’t you think a stress fracture in the base of your spine would rule out the possibility of defending a World athletics title? Not so for World marathon champion Paula Radcliffe. She’s stated she has not lost her intensity or desire since giving birth in January 07, and admitted having a baby may prove an advantage in her quest to win world and Olympic titles.
However, despite her obvious frustration at being sidelined she says it cannot allow this to cloud her daily life.
“With her (Isla) you cannot be down and depressed,” said Radcliffe several hours before starting the Tesco Race for Life women-only 5km race at London’s Battersea Park.
Source: IAAF Athletics
Osaka 10,000m, a possibility
In the shorter term Radcliffe just has a desire to get back running and racing again on the track or on the road. With the IAAF World Championships in Osaka staged in late August through to early September this still gives Radcliffe time to make the start line for what would be her sixth IAAF World Championships since making her debut in Gothenburg 12 years ago.
The marathon remains a huge doubt because of the injury but the 10,000m remains an intriguing possibility.
In Helsinki she finished a distant ninth in that event – nine days before going on to win gold in the marathon. But Radcliffe is adamant - despite a poor showing in the 10,000m in Helsinki - she can still make a big impact on the track.
“It didn’t dent my confidence because I had faith in my training and I learned from Athens stressing about it is not going to do any good,” she added. “I don’t know what happened (in the 10,000m in Helsinki) I should have run better. Maybe it was just me thinking I’ve got a marathon (in nine days’ time) save a little and maybe sub-consciously that was it. It must have been to a certain degree because I didn’t run in spikes, I ran in flats.”
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