Radcliffe wants drug tests prior to US race

PAULA RADCLIFFE, winner of two major championship gold medals in the last month, has interrupted her preparations for the Chicago Marathon and replied to drug allegations made against her two brilliant performances.

In her own determined way, Radcliffe has asked the International Association of Athletic Federations to carry out even more stringent tests for EPO and any other drugs in the build-up to the American race. It was the newly-crowned Commonwealth 5,000metres and European 10,000m champion’s wishes to prepare for her eagerly-awaited clash against world record-holder Catherine Ndereba in Chicago without intrusion from the media. But Radcliffe, who broke her Commonwealth record - missing the world record by only three seconds - in Manchester then decimated Ingrid Kristiansen’s European record in Munich, has been stung by French-inspired drug criticism.

Today, Radcliffe will announce on the website of the International Amateur Athletic Association that she wants the world governing body to immediately carry out random blood and urine tests on her, before and after racing in Chicago. A crusader against drugs for her entire career, Radcliffe, who wears a red ribbon to symbolise her cleanliness from EPO and other drugs which have poisoned the sport recently, has been stung by criticism, particularly the daily French sports newspaper, L’Equipe.

Interrupting her disciplined preparations for Chicago in the altitude of her training base at Font Romeau in the French Alps, Radcliffe’s hard-hitting column expresses her disappointment that drug accusations should have been made.

Speaking about the post-Munich allegations, Radcliffe tells the IAAF website: ‘‘My idea is that regular three to four week screening can help us prove the validity of our performances and ensure the sport is fair but they can also double as health screening for us, and pick up danger signs of illness and over-training.

‘‘Since reading the article in L’Equipe, I have asked the IAAF to conduct random blood and urine tests on me in the build up to Chicago and at the competition itself.’’

Adding a new dimension to drug testing, Radcliffe added: ‘‘I would like these samples to be frozen and tested again in the future as new detection tests become available.

‘‘This is the only way I can think of to prove that my results are the result of over 10 years of hard work, pain and dedication.”