After a pregnant pause, Radcliffe vows to return at Beijing Olympics

Published on Wednesday 12 July 2006 00:40

PAULA Radcliffe announced yesterday that she was bowing to the inevitable and pulling out of the European Championships this summer. However, it is not because of the foot injury she sustained in January, but the happy news she is pregnant.

Radcliffe, 33, dismissed speculation that it might mean the end of her career and insisted she would be back to contest the one major honour that has eluded her - an Olympic gold medal.

"Beijing [in 2008] is the long-term goal for the marathon, so it depends what best fits in with that," she said.

Liz McColgan knows a great deal about coming back after childbirth and she is wholly behind Radcliffe's decision. "It's the best time for her to have a baby. It will work well with her plans," she said.

Radcliffe is reported to have been communicating with the former marathon world record holder Ingrid Kristiansen on training during pregnancy, but she might do worse than include McColgan among her advisers.

"I ran every single day of my pregnancy, right up to the day before I gave birth," said the Scot. "I remember I felt a little heavy that day and didn't feel right."

Despite the fact that she was about to go into labour, McColgan estimates she still managed to run five to six miles the day before giving birth.

Naturally, training while heavily pregnant drew some strange looks from the neighbours, but she was not fazed by it. "Most people knew me, so they accepted it," she said. "But I could see they couldn't believe their eyes. I certainly don't hold with not taking exercise and putting your feet up. That's an old wives' tale. It's how you feel and it's important not to have a training plan, but to listen to your body. It can affect your posture, of course, but there are belts you can buy that will help that problem."

But it is what happened after the birth that amazed people even more. After six and a half weeks, McColgan took part in a 5km road race in the US and, after 11- and-a-half weeks, won a bronze medal in the World Cross Country Championships. After nine months she was world 10,000m champion on the track, a title that has always eluded Radcliffe. "You feel really good, comfy and strong because you've got rid of all that weight," said McColgan, recalling her first runs after childbirth. "I felt fantastic after carrying the baby."

As for training, McColgan recommends Radcliffe listen to her body so that she takes it easy when she feels she should, comparing the difficulty of training while heavily pregnant to training at altitude. "But, like me, I think she has a high pain threshold and she will be able to handle it. It's not a problem. After all, it's only six months off. I'm sure she has taken all the right advice and I'm convinced she'll come back 100 per cent."

Radcliffe said that she is looking forward to the rest and McColgan agrees that that is the greatest benefit of pregnancy to the full-time athlete. "I really enjoyed my pregnancy. I was able to do everything I wanted to do and never had the time. You're living on borrowed time and you're so ready to get back into the swing of things."

The Scot set the bar high for sportswomen returning from childbirth. Two days after giving birth to Eilish, her first child, she was in her tracksuit and out the door. "I felt a bit sore and it was hard, but it gradually got better," she said.

For the most part, Radcliffe is already on the same wavelength as the Scot. "I can come back fitter, stronger and happier, balanced in other areas of my life," she said. "I've been competing internationally since 1991 and it won't do my body any harm to have a rest. I'm confident my training can fit around the baby, but we will have to have a lot of help. Things will change, but we're confident they will change for the better."

The first major championships for Radcliffe after giving birth in January will be the Osaka World Championships. McColgan, too, went to Japan after childbirth and took world gold in Tokyo.

At the moment, Radcliffe is undecided as to which distance she will compete over in Japan. In what is expected to be a hot and humid climate, worse if possible than Athens where she failed so spectacularly, she may opt for the 10,000m., And she is still determined to be part of the British team for the home Olympics in London 2012.

"I'm not saying it will be my strongest chance, but I don't see I can't be running then," she said. "Carlos Lopes won the Olympic marathon at 38, so anything is possible. I'm not worried about being mentally up for it. Whether my body will be up for it remains to be seen."

For the immediate future, McColgan has no doubts: "I think she'll be better than ever when she comes back. Paula still has a lot of drive in her. She must have little goals like running faster, winning the London Marathon again and winning the Olympic Games. She will be a happier person after giving birth.

"Sometimes, we are so obsessed that it is good to get sidetracked from your running. She'll bounce back."