Radcliffe’s
astonishing sub 2:19 marathon debut
silences
sceptics
Steven Downes for the
IAAF
14 April 2002 - London - Paula Radcliffe produced such a piece of brave distance
running here in the Flora London Marathon on Sunday that she must claim a place
in the pantheon of British athletics stars, right alongside the legends such as
Bannister, Coe and Ovett. Radcliffe defied all conventional marathon running
wisdom and opted to run solo for nearly 20 miles to win on her debut at the
marathon in 2hr 18min 56sec, a world best for a women's only race.
They say that the marathon is as much a test of patience and self-restraint as it is of speed and stamina. Radcliffe lost patience after less than 30 minutes of running in Sunday's Flora London Marathon, Britain's world champion at half-marathon and cross-country took off, leaving some of the world's best women distance runners trailing in her wake.
Russia's Svetlana Zakharova finished second, as she did in 2001, this time clocking 2:22:31, just out-sprinting her compatriot Lyudmila Petrova by 2sec over the final dash down The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. Japan's Reiko Tosa, having done much of the work to chase Radcliffe, finished fourth (2:22:46), just ahead of Susan Chepkemei of Kenya (2:23:19).
"I wanted to get the total world record, Catherine Ndereba's 2:18:47," said Radcliffe, "and I didn't know how close I really was to it until the last 800 metres.
"But I gave it everything. I couldn't give any more." Radcliffe will be mightily rewarded for her effort, possibly the biggest single payday for a woman athlete in history - collecting around $255,000 in prize money and record bonuses, to go with her reported $200,000 appearance fee.
It was a typical piece of committed front-running from Radcliffe. On the downhill opening miles, Radcliffe at times seemed to be almost skipping along, so comfortable was she with the early pace. After passing 5km in 16min 37sec, accompanied by Chepkemei, the half-marathon world
record-holder, Tosa, and Ethiopia's Derartu Tulu, the world Olympic 10,000m champion, these leaders were joined just before 10km by a second group, led by Joyce Chepchumba and including four Russians.
As the pace slackened, Radcliffe moved to the head of the group, alongside the two pacemakers. As she forced the pace, a gap began to open, and when she raced through the 11th mile in 5min 17sec, Radcliffe was clear of all rivals, and she even began to outstrip the pacemaker Iness Chenonge, well before the halfway mark.
"Over Tower Bridge, the crowd gave me such a lift, I just took off," Radcliffe said. "I was feeling good and I thought I might just as well risk it.
"I knew I couldn't blow it - people would think this idiot has come here and shown no respect for the marathon."
Radcliffe reached 20km in 1:07:24, and was already more than 38sec ahead of Tulu and Chepkemei, with Tosa leading a secondary chasing group a further 35sec back. But after passing halfway (1:11:04), successive miles run by Radcliffe in 5:07, 5:08, 5:11 and 5:14 blew the race open, stretching her lead to more than 2min as she reached 17 miles in 1:31:11.
This phenomenal injection of speed seemed to dispose of the threat of Tulu, who with Chepkemei was caught by Tosa. The Japanese, silver medallist at last year's IAAF World Championships, took the initiative in the pursuit of Radcliffe, dragging with her through the isolated, blustery Isle of Dogs section of the course Lyudmila Petrova, Chepkemei and Svetlana Zakharova. The chase was on.
Yet Radcliffe's extraordinary front-running continued, her head bobbing in familiar style as she covered the 20th mile in 5:11, and passing that mile marker in 1:46:50 - on target for a sub-2:20 finishing time. Behind her, Tosa's clutch of four were running almost as quickly, but they could not make any inroads on Radcliffe.
At the Tower of London, Radcliffe's lead was more than 2:50, and the chasing group was whittled down to three, Chepkemei pausing on the notorious cobblestones to vomit, the gut-wrenching pace of the race claiming another victim.
The sceptics looked at one another, as if to question how long the 28-year-old Briton could maintain her pace. Radcliffe's answer was to throw in a 5:08 mile, reaching 22M in 1:57:14, and making the 25th mile the fastest of the race - just 5:06.
Radcliffe, the IAAF World Junior Cross-country a decade ago, but for so many years since then regarded as a a good track runner who never quite had the last-lap speed to win the major titles, had at last found her event. And with a vengeance!
Women: sub 2:30
1. Paula Radcliffe (Britain)
2:18:56
2. Svetlana Zakharova (Russia) 2:22:31
3. Lyudmila Petrova (Russia) 2:22:33
4. Reiko
Tosa (Japan) 2:22:46
5. Susan Chepkemei
(Kenya) 2:23:19
6. Joyce Chepchumba (Kenya) 2:26:53
7. Silvia Skvortsova (Russia) 2:27:07
8. Zinaida Sememova (Russia) 2:27:45
9. Derartu Tulu (Ethiopia) 2:28:37
10. Shitaye Gemechu (Ethiopia) 2:28:58
11. Irina Safarova (Russia) 2:29:20
