World marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe will delay making a decision on whether or not she will run in the Olympic 10,000 metres after dropping out of Sunday’s marathon. The pre-race favourite dramatically quit the 42.195 kms race after 36 kms.At a news conference on Monday the tearful Briton, who had broken the world record twice in her previous three marathons, said she could offer no explanation for her disappointing performance.“I don’t have a lot of explanations at this point,” she said. “I am struggling myself to comprehend what happened and I hope I will find a reason and come back to you in a couple of days.”Radcliffe, 30, said the conditions had been tough for all the athletes. “I don’t think the heat was a factor,” she said. “I just got to the stage in the middle of the race that I just didn’t have anything in my legs.I just felt I couldn’t keep going.”Radcliffe said she wanted to make a contribution to the British team but added she would not make an immediate decision about the 10,000. The final is scheduled for Friday.Four years ago Radcliffe led throughout the Olympic 10,000m final in Sydney only to be overhauled with a lap to go, eventually finishing fourth. She suffered the same fate in the 2001 world championships,leading until the final lap where she was overtaken by a trio of Ethiopians.Radcliffe’s fortunes changed dramatically after she moved up to the marathon. Her debut in the 2002 London marathon was the fastest ever by a woman and she went on to break the world record in Chicago later in the same year.Last year she reduced her record to two hours 15 minutes 25seconds in London but her track season was disrupted by injury and illness and she pulled out of the Paris world championships. (Reuters)
