PAULA RADCLIFFE OLYMPICS 2004 ATHENS MARATHON

[Puppylove24100]

She's a great role model with people with asthema

[TheZoelzer2]

what just happend to my screen .lol

[ladgefull]

If you end up crying in the gutter after a night on the ale , it's known as doing a Radcliffe.

[giggetygooful]

one word WARRIOR

[KrackowKid]

I thnk your media in the UK put far to much pressure and expectation on your athletes and Soccer teams. If your media stopped talking things up so much and left them alone they might win a lot more without all the hype and pressure to perform.

[ThePasco3]

@KrackowKid wtf is soccer mate?

[KrackowKid]

@ThePasco3 No idea wtf it is ? A form a volleyball maybe ? Don't be such a purist fucking prat.

[AenLu]

For me she is one of the most inspiring athletes ever. She's strong, she's pure, she's human. I love her!

[KrackowKid]

@AenLu But sure we're all human. She didn't really win half of what she was been talked up of her to win did she. When it comes to the olympics, that's the big stage and she never really delivered at the olympics. She's a bit like the english football teams. All talk but no delivery of results.

[LouisaGerMazzurana]

This Sunday Paula Radcliffe will start at the Berlin Marathon after two years without an race. I will be on the track and hope she will make a good race.

Best wishes to her from her fans in Germany

[Colzify]

That's nonsense "you still finish"---top notch marathoners DO drop out to save their bodies for the next battle and to make sure they don't do permanent damage to themselves. The Great Haile G. dropped out of NYC this year with his knee injury. That's not a matter of "respect" it's a matter of wisdom. They are both great athletes.

[philip1mus]

foster and crams comments are priceless......thats enough......its not about giving up...she did not complete the races.... so she gave up. i used to run half marathons my best was 76mins but i ran one in 92 mins due to feeling rough for the last half of the race i stopped and walked 2 or 3 times but i finished the race. and many years later that was one of the ones i was most proud of. this is just a lack of respect to all the other athletes. someone has to win and someone hastocomelast

[mgljimcmgl]

@philip1mus Oh My God, this woman has been competing in the highest level for so long, holding awesome records, winning European Championships, World Championships, International Cross Country Races, International Marathons, running in some highest chamiponships even twice just in a few days and are we going to question or doubt about her performances?? One thing is competing at medium/high level and another quite different is competing in the highest level, where even the toughest struggle.

[philip1mus]

@mgljimcmgl yeah but at any level you still finish.....look steve jones if you have heard of him is the british record holder...still..for the marathon now he was leading a championship marathon by about 2 mins at half way was on corse for a world record and then blew up at 20 odd miles finished in 2.22 mins well down the field..........but he finished.  its something called respect mate.

[mgljimcmgl]

@philip1mus Well, I share your statement in some points but I have to disagree in this case. Maybe Paula is one of the best runners in history, even well prepared male athletes would struggle to get her marathon´s personal best. It´s a question of pride too, she has been proud to represent Great Britain and she was only thinking to get the victory, she has demonstrated everything in the highest competitions. She only thought to win the gold medal in order ton render tribute to her people.

[Finchx2]

She has run marathons completed marathons and 2 runs out of 100 she has a bad 1 at least at some of the comments she has RUN all the marathon not stopped or walked 2 or 3 times.

Being able to pick up and carry on I think your point is coming at well seems like she has done that.

[liverpoollibra1]

this made me so sad :(

[ThePROTO1TYPE]

I've always greatly admired Paula, not only for her amazing athletic achievements but for the person she is - honest to the core. I am Irish and this reminds me so much of what happened to our Sonia O'Sullivan - another brilliant and honest athlete - in Atlanta in 1996. Both should have been Olympic Champions but that's the cruelty of sport. Things don't always work out the way they ought to. Nevertheless they will be remembered and revered for a long time to come. I salute Paula and Sonia .

[DerAdemar]

I couldn´t agree with you more iena7719. She did her best with as much elegance and grace as she could. Her face shows how much she wanted to end the race. She is a big inspiration.

[iena7719]

Her body was exhausted, she had been unable to properly digest food for days leading up to the Athens marathon, due to stress and anti-inflammatory's she was taking for a haematoma in her leg. Do you not realise how important fuelling your body is before running 26.2 miles? She pushed as hard as she could she could run no further. Do you think one day she decides to run an olypic marathon and then just does it the next day? She puts in months and months of hard training. She's a legend.

[adamvahle]

Look how many people try out for the olympics just to get a chance to run and she quits because she knows she inst going to win??? At least have some pride and finish the race all the people who barely didnt qualify for the olympics would loved to have finished no matter what.

[Swift898]

@adamvahle When your body says enough its enough I know its a mental thing but she did and showed us enough that she is already a winner you just ridicule to much on paula. Not everyone has their day be nice

[christoff10]

@adamvahle. how many world records do you have?. 

[adamvahle]

@christoff10 Sorry didnt know you had to have a world record to comment it wont happen again until I win a gold medal

[steps1]

Legend..I tell you..if there is any justice in this world then Radcliffe will win Olympic Gold in London..Just imagine being possibly the best marathon runner of all time..having the World Record which no other woman can get close to..a time which most elite men would be delighted with..that plus all the training she has done..and then the one thing she craves most is denied her due to illness and injury. They say "each to their own" but anyone who slags her off needs their head seeing to

[butterflyfantasy92]

Bless her, she's definitely a hero though! Her age is against her as well even though she is not that old. l still love you Paula!

[Xfactories]

Of course it's about quitting. Her mind was obviously elsewhere

[LeFraz]

I don't know any backstory... but quitting a race is extremely uninspiring. As a runner.. i don't care how shitty I feel... I have to finish a race that I start.

[MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU]

@LeFraz You say she is uninspiring & that u don't know any backstory. Allow me to fill you in with a few details:.

Paula Radcliffe has won a world champioinship gold, 3 world cross country championship golds, a commonwealth games gold, a european championship gold, a european championship gold, 3 european cross country championship golds and 3 european cup golds. All over distances ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 metres.

I'd say anybody who achieves those kind of results is remarkably inspiring.

[LeFraz]

@MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU

and she quits in the face of possible defeat...

[flatfootio]

@MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU

5000 metres - 10,000 metres? thats only 5KM and 10KM im sure she has done more than that?

[MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMeAndU]

@flatfootio I got that info from wikipedia so i'm hoping it's correct but not 100% sure :o\

[Daz555Daz]

@LeFraz and what if you ran at elite pace? Finish the race would you? Nope.

[bobore7]

a great athlete. Much respect from Romania!

[nachopatricia]

go paula go, eres la mejor!!!!!!!

[percdann]

A sad and unfortunate time for the greatest runner of all time. I believe her marathon record is more impressive then gebs. And im a big fan of geb

[hurtadodcompa]

@percdann I agree with you, if you look at the other female marathoners, the top 10, they are minutes behind her, Haile's record can be broken soon by the way the last few marathons have been run. I dont think Paula's record will go down any time soon.

[percdann]

@hurtadodcompa I cant remember exactly but i think its 209 seconds between paula and the next best, which i think is also her....with geb i think it is only 17 seconds to duncan kibet.....i doubt either will be broken anytime soon. But if you were to bet which one would be standing in 10,20,50,100 years.... it would have to be the womens....

[DigitalDistribution]

she stopped because she wasnt gonna get a medal. Bad sporsmanship.

[percdann]

@DigitalDistribution Thats completely wrong man. Read her book before you make ill-informed comments.

[sanitary103]

I'd never question her heart and desire based on a few races in which she didn't quit. The woman has accomplished more than anybody on this planet would even dream of.

[richanimal476]

Cavarre

Yes, I agree if she pushed harder she probably would have at least finished in 5th or 6th. But, you know, she actually had no energy during this race due to medications she took that had an ill effect on her stomach. Hopefully we see her healthy at the Olympics in 2012!

[darada8m]

i dont blame her for stopping. i mean she's practically having a mental break down. let's just hope she can pull through on the next big event!

[mcnamai]

Guys what was Steve Cram doing there (at the start?)

[Lam9r]

working so hard and then it wasn't her day :(

[steps1]

She is quite simply a legend..and people who knock her are morons who need their head seeing to.

The best marathon runner of all time..3 minutes clear of the next best..I think she's won 8 out of 11 marathons..and yet injury and illness deprived her of the one thing she craves the most.

If there's any justice in this world, Paula will win Gold at home in 2012

[Cavarre]

god i wish she was more of a fighter. i know she is an amazing runner but you dont see ANY other athletes doing what she does. they all at least finish...even if it means crawling

[dan32113]

@Cavarre you don"t see anyonr running her speed, thats true! no African can touch her time! get back to your biscuits, lard ass!

[Cavarre]

@dan32113 lard ass...? im a track runner i know what it is like...im just saying its not always the best to sit on the ground and cry if u cant win

[jackHNv]

Paula's inspirational message to young British athletes - if at first you don't succeed, give up and start crying - brilliant!

[jakespb]

@jackHNv you're right, such acts certainly don't inspired young athlets, but health is importatnt too... especially for sportsman...

[dan32113]

@jackHNv she"s crying out of frustration! she is an inspiration nobody on the planet has ever run the marathon as fast as her! Her thermostat blew up because of the heat! you"ve never run. Radcliffe has won London, New York & World title, how many have you won?

[jackHNv]

@dan32113 Actually I have run - I've done a marathon , a couple of half marathons, and some triathlons (admittedly 15-20 years ago), and I don't remember stopping halfway through when I knew I wasn't going to win.

Yes, she can run fast, that's not an issue - but she's a quitter and gives up when she isn't at the top of her form, and that is not inspirational is it?

[chiuyeah]

WAT IS THE BG MUSIC??

[chiuyeah]

wat is the bg music?

[mysterymanhoff]

gold in 2012 we know u can do it! the bitchers who moan about her in 2004 shud know she was injured....

[andrewthebestes]

What an asshole. Teaching people to quit at everything they try if they fail one or two times.

[KevinBusomjack]

Everyone has bad days. I don't see why this is a big deal.

[llandudnoboy]

@KevinBusomjack

I do not think blowing up in possibly the greatest race in your career can be considered a bad day.

she knew the conditions were going to be extream by arriving wearing a water cooled coat and then she tried to win the race from the front.

She was clearly the most dominant runner there with a pb minutes ahead of any other competitor and then she self destroyed herself in that Athens heat allowing an athlete with a pb 9 minutes slower than hers to reap all the glory.

[meghanallen]

She's fuck up. Oh puleasee atsede bayisa run 7 minutes faster than her. She never race against the ethiopians. Her record for 2009 is 2:29:27. Do not fucking count her fucked up record.

[meghanallen]

Paula RAdcliffe record is fake. Why hasn't she run london marathon in over 5 years. If she runs she'll only run 2:29:27.

[akwrobinson]

I would have to say, for all the support she received someone was pretty stupid to advise she wear a baseball cap. Notice none of the others in the leading group were wearing one & you only have to have a passable scientific knowledge to appreciate the impact of impairing her ability to dissipate heat via her head. She must have had a very high level of humidity developing under the cap. Not very sensible...wear a poker visor next time.

[llandudnoboy]

When you arrive at the biggest race of your career wearing a ice jacket to keep you cool you know it's going to be a very hard event, but then go out like your about to win London UTTER MADNESS

Paula was by far the best athlete in that race, she should have held back and won the race from 24miles or so

The winner i remember had a pb of 14 minutes slower than her so only if she had held back she would have won that elusive Olympic title

She will be too old in London 2012 what a shame

[RenewableFuel]

The competition at the top for running is a lot more harder than swimming by far.

[jackdewack]

If she were to win, and I do not want to jinx anything, it would be the biggest story in Britain. We have a connection with her like with David Beckham etc, and that is why she gets the attention she does. I am just inspired by her

[jackdewack]

Do you do long distance running? When you have stomach cramps it is the most painful feeling when running. Also, she has no energy due to anti imflamtories to mask her injury. Please, research the sport a bit before you critisize the greatest distance athlete to have exisited

[wallasky]

The races at the Olympics in 2004 were just two races. I am convinced she can return and do well.

[llandudnoboy]

@wallasky

Age may be against her.

Few top athletes who will be 38 yrs old come the London Olympics will feature on the podium amongst the medals.

Name me any athletic competitor especially in the marathon who won Gold at the age of 38.

[kers80bhp]

@llandudnoboy Constantina Dita Tomescu a 38-year-old romanian athlete is the current 2009 olympic womans marathon champion and Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes of Portugal who won the men's marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics at the age of 37 with a time of 2:09.21 which was an olympic record at the time, so you can never say never.

[llandudnoboy]

@kers80bhp

Constantina Dita Tomescu i believe took part in last Sundays Virgin London marathon and if i recall i saw her finish in 2hrs 40min.

She may have won the Olympic title in Beijing but in a very slow time.

Goodness knows what Richard Branson and Dave Bedford paid her to turn up but 2-40 will win you no races.

London 2012 will be won in a quick time prabably 2-20 or better because everyone of note will peak just at the right time for that race.

.

[TheTrfollower]

@llandudnoboy

I think Abel Anton was about that age, wasn't he?

[llandudnoboy]

@TheTrfollower

No i think Abel Anton and Martin Fiz were around 31-32 yrs of age which is at the peak of their running careers.

Antonio Pinto, Abelkadder Elmoases ,Abel Anton, Martin Fizz, Dionisio Seron, Kalid Kanouchi were all top marathon winning athletes many of them Kanouchi Anton and Fizz set European and World records.

I do not think any of these athletes have yet turned 40 but do you hear of them now. They are too old

[TheTrfollower]

@llandudnoboy

Abel Anton won in Seville in 1999, he was born in 1962, subsequently he had turned 37 at that time. I think we may call that victory a peak of career?

[llandudnoboy]

@TheTrfollower

Abel Anton was certainly the exception to the rule.

A European Champion aswell as winning other major races.

The occasional elite runner of Antons age did win big marathons but the marathon record in Antons day was nowhere near as competative as today's 2-03-57.

Unless you can run under 2-06 today it's unlikely you will win one of the big races

[TheTrfollower]

@llandudnoboy

If i'm not mistaken, also a world champion in Seville. 2.13 wouldn't do nowadays, yet, he was good enough to become world chapion at 37 in the mens marathon. Mind, Paula Radcliffe will hardly compete in the mens marathon, and it's to late to beat Anton in 1999, Abel Anton is now 48 years old, and probably can't run away from Radcliffe anymore...

[llandudnoboy]

@TheTrfollower

Anton and his fellow countryman Martin Fizz were both superb athletes being able to peak for major championships just at the right time.

Winning the World Championships at 37 was quite amazing.

Prabably the set standard for marahon running today wouldnot allow him to repeat the process at 37 but Anton was a great runner.

[louryan]

I really hope she pulls it through in 2012. How beautiful would that be, the long awaited olympic gold in your home country. You can do it, Paula.

[miltondemagnifique]

jeez, as an aussie she's probably about the only pom i would want to see win lol

[louryan]

Haha, I'm an Aussie too and she's pretty much the only pom athlete I like...

[llandudnoboy]

@miltondemagnifique

I fear she will be too old in 2012 to be a credible oponent for equally hungry and fast younger runners.

Once you are past 35 in top class athletics your best races are over.

No current winner of the London Marathon male or female are over 30yrs old.

Even Gabresalassie a real vetran is only in his early 30ies and he is the exception to the rule.

[kers80bhp]

Constantina Dita Tomescu a 38-year-old romanian athlete is the current 2009 olympic womans marathon champion and Carlos Alberto de Sousa Lopes of Portugal who won the men's marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics at the age of 37 with a time of 2:09.21 which was an olympic record at the time, so you can never say never.

[llandudnoboy]

True but it is very unlikely that she will be crowned Olympic Champion in London 2012.

Constantina Dita is not even in the same class as Paula, you only have to witness here positioning in London when Paula was at her very best.

Dita was at the right place at the right time in Beijing and had Paula been ready for the event and fit Dita would certainly not have won it but all respect she is an will remain Olympic Champion for ever for that games anyway.

[miltondemagnifique]

@llandudnoboy yeah, sure, like when haile gebrselassie when he set the world record. She may well lose, but she will compete, and will have a chance to win. Keep your armchair expert opinions to yourself.

[llandudnoboy]

There is no reason to be like that.

Ive been a runner for the past 28yrs and world class athletes are usually past their prime by the time their 34yrs old.

Racing competatively takes a lot out of an athlete.

Antonio Pinto, Paul Tergat and other great runners have now retired from racing and both men are still fairly young.

Gebrselassie is a rarity, an athlete competing at World level at 33.

It would be nice to see Paula win in London 2012 but unlikely due to her age.

[pabanil]

@llandudnoboy dont worry my friend,she will work hard for 2012 london marathon,age is just a number!haha

[llandudnoboy]

@louryan

As she will be nearly 39 yrs old in 2012 age will most likely be against her to win that elusive Gold.

Conditions in London 2012 will be perfect for a fast time and more suited to a younger and fitter runner.

She may win it but it's doubtfull

[robindcole]

She's really a beautiful runner and beautiful person. It's not about quitting. It's about knowing that she's the world's best distance runner, and feeling her body giving up on her. I hope that she will always love running, and will be able to run for endurance and enjoyment all her life. I also hope she kicks ass in 2012.

[llandudnoboy]

@robindcole

Only the worlds best on the day.

With a marathon pb of 2-15 she knew the Athens race was going to be very hard in that heat and humidity yet she lead the field almost from the begining until she fell apart.

In such an important race career and money wise she should have held back knowing this was going to be a slow race, and bid for glory near the end.

I have a marathon pb of 2-37 so i have some idea of what it's like to compete at a high level.

[jackHNv]

What a fantastic example for aspiring sportsmen and women!

If it gets hard and you won't win, give up and start crying, - brilliant.

[jonathonpower6666]

jajaja FUCKER

[hurtadodcompa]

tHANKS FOR PUTTING THIS UP. i FEEL SO BAD FOR HER. SHE HAS THE TOP FASTEST TIMES AND THE WORLD RECORD FOR THE MARATHONG, WINNER OF SO MANY RACES BUT FOR SOME REASON THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING WRONG WHEN THE OLYMPICS COME. I'M REALLY HOPING SHE'LL BE FIT AND READY TO RUN IN LONDON.

I'M A RUNNER MYSELF AND SHE IS MY IDOL.

BERLIN 2009!!!

[jackHNv]

There'll be something wrong with her for the 2012 Olympicsas well.

She never performs at the big events because she chokes. It's got nothing to do with injuries etc, it's just that she'a a bottler!

[melovetorun]

Amen