Brutal conditions expose Radcliffe's mere mortality

Published on Monday 23 August 2004 02:40

PAULA Radcliffe’s aura of invincibility had to be shattered some time. It happened yesterday, in the cruellest way, on the course from which the very word marathon is derived.

The British runner, in the lead for almost three-quarters of the race from the town of Marathon itself to the Panathinaiko, withdrew from the contest a little over six kilometres from home, unable to take any more. In the days preceding the event there had been rumours that she had had to consult with her medical advisers and was far from fit, but whatever the truth of that, the fact is that many of those athletes who were definitely in peak condition at the start were suffering terribly long before the end of the race.

Radcliffe might be accused of forcing the pace too much, but, as the world record-holder, she knows that on her day she is faster than any of her competitors. As it was, the pace she set was relatively conservative, as was the winning time.

Mizuki Noguchi of Japan, running superbly and giving barely a sign that she was putting in a supreme effort, took the gold medal in two hours, 26 minutes and 20 seconds. Her lead had stretched out to just over a minute a few kilometres from the historic stadium - site not only of the 1896 Olympic Games but also of far more ancient sporting celebrations - yet as she entered the arena she was being tracked by Catherine Ndereba of Kenya. As the packed crowd in the marbled stands rose to greet the pair, Ndereba just lacked the few ounces of energy left to put in the sort of burst of speed that would trouble her Japanese rival, and had to settle for the silver medal, 11 seconds down. Deena Castor of the United States secured the bronze medal with a late surge.

It was almost like a return to the bad old days, when Radcliffe was all too vulnerable, and failed to land the big prizes. Almost, for yesterday was different in two respects. In the sense that she did not finish it was worse than the times she came in second or fourth or six, but in another it was not so bad, because at least it followed years in which the unassuming woman from Bedford became the best marathon runner in the world.

She took long enough to accept that she should move up from the 10,000 metres, the event at which she was fourth in the Sydney Olympics and in the 2001 world championships in Edmonton, and second in the 1999 worlds in Seville. It feels like far longer, such is the stranglehold she has had on major marathons, but it was in fact just two years ago that she made the move up.

She began with a bang, recording the fastest ever debut (2:18.56) in London, then setting a world record of 2:17.18 in Chicago. She later reduced that world record to 2:15.25. But these times were produced in more clement times, whereas yesterday the conditions could only be described as brutal. Thirty-four degrees Celsius, 40 per cent humidity, and a hilly course into the bargain thanks to that unhelpful old chap Pheidippides. But, despite that not being the ideal setting for her, Radcliffe set about her business in the way she always does, by going to the front and trying to burn off the rest of the field.

By the time they had been going for quarter of an hour, the 92 starters had been reduced to a group of 15 or so contenders, despite the fact that the pace was modest. Five minutes later, Kenza Wahbi put on a brief spurt which got the leading bunch down to a dozen, but almost immediately the Moroccan paid for her own adventurousness, and dropped back after moving to the side of the course to retch.

At the 10km mark - despite the fact that the race is historically measured at 26 miles 385 yards, modern courses have kilometre markers - there were only a dozen left in it. Some world-class runners had already been left trailing by then, including Asha Gigi of Ethiopia, who pulled up, threw up, then pulled out.

Radcliffe ratcheted up the pressure after an hour, and then Noguchi attacked at the foot of another hill, an action which was enough to jettison two more stragglers. As the halfway point was reached in one hour 14 minutes two seconds there were just seven left, the three Japanese among them. That trio had been identified as the main threat to the Englishwoman, especially after their vow last week that they would outdo her individual brilliance with teamwork, but, while they were still bunched together, there had been no evidence of any collective strategy.

As the 90-minute mark approached, Noguchi decided she was feeling good enough to do without any support from her compatriots, and ran into a clear lead. Alemu went with her, but Radcliffe could not follow, and there was soon a 50-metre lead between the leading pair and the rest.

Ndereba managed to stick with Radcliffe, and, with the best part of an hour still to run, the two had ample time to mount a joint counter-attack. By that time, though, Radcliffe was almost spent. She had enough in her to overtake Alemu and briefly go back into second place, but Ndereba then passed both of them.

With 35km run - and therefore just over seven to go - Radcliffe was a full minute behind and in fourth place. Still she attempted another attack, but it was too much. With the clock registering 2:06.53, and just as she approached the 36km post she stopped.

Racked with pain, she forced herself to set off again. She got barely 100m further down the road before she admitted defeat and stopped.

Out on her own in the lead, Noguchi was blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding behind her. Her running style has far too much lateral movement to be classed as economical, but it was working for her all right. Indeed, as she approached the edges of the city she had a positive spring in her step.

It turned out she needed it over the closing stages, as Ndereba gnawed away at her lead and got it down to 12 seconds by the time the stadium was in sight. Alemu, who had looked secure in third for some time, was overtaken by Castor a few hundred metres from the entrance to the ground, but, retaining the patient look which had been on her face all race, simply kept going at the same pace to finish a dignified fourth.

It was a dramatic end, but surely not as dramatic as the agonised demise of the woman who, despite still not having an Olympic medal to her name, still must be regarded as the greatest distance-runner of her generation. Yesterday proved she’s mortal, that’s all. She will be loved and admired all the more because of that.

After the race Radcliffe was given a medical examination, but was said only to be suffering from exhaustion. Her two British team-mates, Liz Yelling and Tracey Morris, were 25th and 29th respectively.

"I am absolutely gutted for Paula," Yelling, who finished in 25th place in 2:40.13, said: "I only found out about Paula when Sue Barker told me in the TV interview.

"I know how hard she has trained and how much dedication and sacrifice she has made. She wanted this one so badly. Maybe she underestimated the course."

Yelling added: "It was a lot harder than I thought. If you look at the profile of the course there seems to be some flat bits but I didn’t see any."

Radcliffe was taken to the Panathinaiko Stadium in an ambulance and then to the athletes’ holding room. She was with her husband and coach Gary Lough, her parents and medical staff who gave her a full medical check-up as a precaution.

When Radcliffe emerged she told reporters she was "devastated" and adding that she would speak about her ordeal further today. She was then led out of the arena, looking very distressed, by her husband.

The fans had waited anxiously and expectantly for their heroine to enter the giant concrete horseshoe of a stadium, parking themselves in two corners of the shadeless stands waving their banners proclaiming ‘Radcliffe on a Rampage. But the wait was to all end in vain.