Radcliffe regains London Marathon crown

Paula Radcliffe, with a fabulous front running display, regained her Flora London Marathon crown in style.

Radcliffe, winning her fifth international title and her third in London where she made her marathon debut three years, clocked two hours 17 minutes and 42 seconds.

That easily bettered the women’s-only record of 2hr 18min 56sec she set on that occasion and earned her a bonus of $125,000 (€97,000).

It was also the third fastest women’s marathon run, Radcliffe having run the two quickest times.

Radcliffe’s victory earned her the winner’s purse of $55,000 (€42,600) and another payment of $25,000 (€19,400) for breaking the women’s-only course record.

Even an unexpected stop in the 22nd mile, when she dramatically halted and squatted for 10 seconds before resuming the race, failed to prevent another superb marathon victory.

Radcliffe broke away from her main rivals before the seven-mile mark.

The pace she set throughout the contest saw her finish well clear of of Romania’s Constantina Tomescu-Dita and Susan Chepkemei of Kenya.