Radcliffe wins but refuses to commit to marathon

BERLIN (AFP) - Britain's 2005 marathon world champion Paula Radcliffe won the New York half marathon on Sunday but revealed in a press conference phone call afterwards that she was undecided whether or not to try and regain the title here next week. The 35-year-old - a world silver medalist at 10,000 metres in 1999 - has been struggling for several months with a foot injury which had cast doubt over her participation. However, despite winning her first competitive race in months in convincing style in New York, timing 1hr 9min 45sec, just two seconds outside the race record set in its inaugural running in 2006, she was still not ready to commit herself to having another crack at the marathon. "I don't know," said Radcliffe, who has held the world marathon record for the past six years having timed 2hr 15min 25sec in London. "I guess I see how I recover over the next few days. "It's a bit tough, but I would say it was more likely than it was last week." Radcliffe, whose career has been beset by injuries and marked by two ineffectual displays in successive Olympics, said that she would come to Berlin in any case. "I am going to get on the plane this evening (Sunday) and arrive in Berlin on Monday morning," said Radcliffe, who is intent on competing at the 2012 Games in London. "But it will be two to three days before one knows if one can run or not." Radcliffe, who beat home Ethiopia's Mamitu Daska by over a minute with Kenya's two-time world marathon champion and last year's winner Catherine Ndereba in third, said that the run had been beneficial but not decisive in her deliberations over whether to run or not. "The race in its own right has done me good to go out and run competitively," said Radcliffe, who has won eight out of the 10 non championship marathons she has competed in including the New York one three times. "But I have to decide if I have the required strength to go out in Berlin and compete against a high quality bunch of rivals." Radcliffe, though, professed herself to be happy with at least winning the race, if not with the time, though, she had been racing into a headwind towards the end. "It was a little bit strange (to be competing again), but today was more about blowing away the cobwebs," admitted the three-time world half marathon champion. "It's not the fastest time I have ever run, but once I took the lead (around about 7km) I kept cruising on. I am not jumping up and down about the time but I was feeling controlled towards the end.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt