Radcliffe gamble backfires

Paula Radcliffe’s gamble to run in the 10,000metres final tonight backfired as she dropped out of the race with eight laps to go.

Paula Radcliffe’s bid to banish the ghost of her devastating marathon collapse ended in failure as she pulled up eight-and-a-half laps from the end of the Olympic 10,000 metres final here tonight.

It was a case of deja vu for the 30-year-old Bedford star who quit Sunday’s marathon four miles before the end of the race.

This time there was no repeat of the floods of tears that accompanied Radcliffe’s dramatic collapse on the road.

Instead she just accepted that she was still not right and trudged off the track while the race continued around her.

The British fans in the Olympic Stadium had hoped it was a good omen that Radcliffe led the runners in the 10,000m field into the arena exactly 15 minutes before the start of the race.

Looking outwardly relaxed and composed, she wore her trademark dark glasses and had her blonde hair tied up with a red band on top of her head. She loosened up with some stretching exercises on the track.

Wearing the number 1831 on her British vest, Radcliffe set off on the 25-lap journey ahead and settled into the middle of the pack but hit the front shortly before the end of the seventh lap and British hopes were rising.

They did not last, however, as she slipped back into the pack just one lap later and then, with 10 laps to go, she was 50 metres down on the leader with the gap getting bigger by the stride.

Soon after, disaster struck as Radcliffe accepted defeat and again came to a halt, deciding not to complete the 25 laps.

“My legs just gave way,” said Radcliffe. “It is not the same thing as Sunday, my legs were just too beaten up after the marathon.”

Radcliffe’s nightmare marathon took place on the hottest day of the year but she put her failure in that down to having nothing left in her legs.

It looked as if Radcliffe would leave Greece immediately with devastating memories.

But she stuck around and showed the British bulldog spirit by confirming her entry in the 10,000m, hoping to bounce back by claiming her first Olympic medal.

It has been a traumatic amazing six days in the life of Radcliffe, who came to Athens as Britain’s best hope of a gold medal in the marathon.

After Sunday’s disappointment she gave an emotional, tear-filled press conference on Monday, received the physical “all-clear” from doctors on Tuesday, then resumed training on Wednesday with two daily sessions in a bid to keep her options open.

Clearly she did not want to go home on the sour note of what happened in the marathon and she took the brave – or risky – decision to run tonight.

The conditions for the track race were in stark contrast to Sunday’s road marathon.

Tonight the temperature was balmy with a cooling breeze around the stadium, ideal for an endurance test.

Radcliffe came here ranked as clearly the fastest woman in the world this year over 10,000m by 26 seconds, having achieved that time of 30mins 17.15secs in terrible conditions at Gateshead in June.

Her personal best of 30 minutes 1.09 seconds ranks as the second quickest run of all time.

An Olympic medal has eluded her, however. She was fourth in the race at the Sydney Olympics four years ago after leading for much of the way before being outpaced on the final lap.

Missing out on a medal once more after finishing behind three tactically-savvy Ethiopians at the World Championships a year later in Edmonton marked a turning point for Radcliffe.

In less than 12 months, ‘Plucky Paula’ became ‘Paula the world beater’.

The capture of half-marathon and cross country world titles persuaded Radcliffe to go all out for the marathon.

She entered the 2002 London Marathon and, to universal acclaim, covered the route in two hours, 18 minutes and 56 seconds – nine seconds outside the world record.

The European Championship in Munich witnessed a stunning Radcliffe display as she ran that second quickest 10,000m of all-time. Then Chicago bowed to Radcliffe in October, when she clocked 2:17:18 in their marathon.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year and the IAAF’s World Athlete of the Year awards followed as she confirmed her status as one of Britain’s favourite sporting figures.

She decimated the 10km road race record in early 2003, and then defended her London Marathon title in awesome fashion. This time she finished almost a mile clear of the field and her time of 2:15:25 shaved one minute and 53 seconds from the previous world best.

Her Olympic focus had been absolute in 2004, and she was a stand-out favourite for the marathon, but she ran out of gas before the end and collapsed in a heap on the side of the road.

But the closest the Radcliffe family has come to winning Olympic gold was in the 1920 Games when Paula’s great aunt Charlotte took a swimming silver in Antwerp. After tonight’s misfortune, history has not been re-written.