Paula Redcliffe is a legendary British athlete, world record holder in marathon running and multiple winner of the AIMS Athlete of the Year award. Three weeks before the London 2012 Games, the athlete withdrew from the competition. The path to the coveted Olympic gold The field was blocked by a leg injury.
Paula Radcliffe was born on December 17, 1973 in the UK into a sports family. Her father was a famous marathon runner, and her aunt was the vice-champion of the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. As a child, the future record holder was a very sickly child. She suffered from asthma and anemia. Paula came to sports under the influence of her father. She achieved her first success at the age of 19. Then Radcliffe became the world junior champion. In 1997, she won a silver cross at the world championship. The next year, she became the European champion at the same distance. In 2003, Paula repeated her success.
In the same year, she set a world record in a marathon, which no one has yet managed to beat. Radcliffe has competed in four Olympics. In the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Games, Paula could not rise above the fourth position in the final races. At the Beijing Olympics, she even came to the finish line in 23rd place.
Paul is much more successful in commercial competitions. She managed to win the most prestigious marathons six times: New York and London.
The athlete has recently been living in Monaco. Paula's wife is her trainer Gary Lowe. Together they are raising two children. The athlete gave birth to her second child in 2010. Already in 2011, she returned to the big sport. At the same time, Radcliffe learned that she was included in the British national team at the 2012 London Games. For the last year, Paula, who is already well over thirty, dreamed of "home" Olympics. However, on the eve of the Games, the athlete began to worry about a long-standing injury to her left leg, and for this reason she was forced to refuse to participate. So from a participant in the competition, whom many predicted a victory, the athlete turned into a simple spectator. Radcliffe did not hide her disappointment. During the interviews she gave on the eve of the Games, her eyes were always filled with tears.
The floor can be understood. Indeed, the athlete is being pursued by some kind of Olympic rock. Something always prevents the world record holder from becoming the best in the main sports competitions of the planet. Despite the injury, she still hopes to get her revenge. Her participation in the next Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, is still a big question. By that time she will be 43 years old.