Paula Radcliffe Says She Will Be Back Better Than Ever

Paula Radcliffe has revealed that when she discovered a foot injury would force her withdrawal from this year's London Marathon she wondered whether her time was up in athletics, and also came to the conclusion that she would struggle to continue with her career up to the London 2012 Olympics. Now, however, she is predicting that she will return better than ever before even though her slow recovery forced her to withdraw from this morning's womens' marathon at the world championships in Berlin.

The surgery to remove a bunion from her foot last March could have proved to be the last straw for the 35-year-old former world champion and current world record holder. "It just kills you mentally," she admitted yesterday. "When my toe went before the London Marathon I told Gary, my husband (Gary Lough, husband and coach), that maybe I was too old and that I'd had my time. I'd had a good run and been luckier than many so maybe that was it. It was so hard to deal with. If I hadn't have had the surgery I would have lurched from injury to injury and I just couldn't have faced it mentally, at least not anymore. It hurts more when you put all the work in and train for months and months for just one race, killing yourself in the process, and then you can't race. It guts you and it affects the whole family."

However, Radcliffe has changed her whole stance after discovering how necessary her surgery was, and what her potential is following its success. "I had not realised just how bad the injury was," she revealed. "I've had the bunion since 2004 and it's caused biomechanical injuries due to the worsening state of my foot. It just got worse as the years passed. It probably contributed to my hernia in 2004. At one point I had to have my running shoes made wider.

"What's delayed my comeback is not the bunion removal, but the major reconstruction work that's needed to be done as a result, added to the work on my second toe and the tendon transfer meant that my flexibility was slow to come back. But now I'm beginning to feel the benefits. It's really annoying to miss out on the world championships. Another week or two and I would have made it. But long term I'm feeling really positive as a result of the surgery. I believe I'll be back to my best, and that's not been seen for six or seven years."

Radcliffe smashed the world record back in 2002 in Chicago with a time of 2:17:18, a mark that still stands today, but since then, despite winning the world title in 2005, she has been hampered by a number of setbacks due to injury and illness, notably the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, the 2007 World Championships, and now today's world championships marathon. Last Sunday she won the New York half marathon but still feels her recovering foot will not allow her to win a marathon world title. Long term, however, it's a different story.

"My foot is now re-aligned to how it looked in 2002," she explained. "For the last three years I've had to ice my foot and take anti-inflammatories after every long run but after New York last week, for example, there was no soreness at all. I think I'm finally cleared of all injuries and will be free to run at my best. Mentally I'm already in in a much better place and feel my challenge for gold at the London Olympics will be a great deal stronger as a result."