LONDON, 27 October 2004 — World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe believes she has put her failure at the Athens Olympics behind her after announcing yesterday that she will run in the New York Marathon on Nov. 7.
The 30-year-old Briton agonizingly dropped out of the marathon and 10,000 meters at the Games last August. “Obviously, the scars will always be there,” Radcliffe said from New York in a teleconference. “But it’s behind me now and I want to enjoy myself and win the race.”
After starting as favorite for the marathon at the Olympics, she pulled up in tears six km from the finish and later described it as the most traumatic experience of her life.
But Radcliffe won’t be seeking redemption in New York. “I accepted what happened in Athens although I am not happy about it,” she said yesterday. “The pressure here is not different from any normal race I want to win.” Radcliffe will join a women’s field including Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor of the United States, defending champion Margaret Okayo of Kenya and the world cross country long-course champion Benita Johnson of Australia.
Romanian Long Distance Athlete Fails Steroid Dope Test
In Bucharest, a Romanian long distance woman runner has been banned for two years after testing positive for the steroid stanozolol, a Romanian Athletics Federation (FRA) official said yesterday.
“Rodica Chirita failed a dope test for stanozolol at August’s national championships,” FRA president Iolanda Balas told Reuters. Chirita, 28, has been national champion at 5,000 and 10,000 meters. There have been a spate of positive tests this year for stanozolol, an anabolic steroid used by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson when he tested positive after winning the 100 meters gold at the 1988 Olympics.
