Olympics 'not looking good', admits injured Radcliffe
British veteran Paula Radcliffe admitted on Sunday her participation in the Olympics marathon "was not looking good" as she struggles to overcome a foot injury. The 38-year-old had had been reported in a newspaper as about to pull out of the Games, but she insisted that she will test the injury one more time before making a decision. Radcliffe said on Twitter that she was "hurt" by the report "and whoever thinks (they) know my situation, before even do final test run. Not looking good but my heartbreaking news to break!". Radcliffe has been struggling for fitness since the foot injury flared up three weeks ago and, according to a source close to the athlete cited in The Mail on Sunday, was set to concede defeat in her bid to line up on August 5. "The time to make a decision has arrived and there's only one decision to make," said the source. "Paula is not fit to run at the moment. There will be an announcement in the next day or two." Andy Hunt, Great Britain's chef de mission, told reporters Sunday: "Paula Radcliffe is absolutely on the team. We all know she is fighting with injury. She's doing everything possible to be fit. Right now, she's on the team. "We continue to make sure that we offer as much support as we can to UK Athletics in giving Paula the best chance to get fit and absolutely get to the start line." He said there was a potential replacement athlete should Radcliffe not be fit in time. "That's a call that (UK Athletics head coach) Charles van Commenee will make. It's with Charles to think about. "We want Paula to be fit and give her the opportunity to compete." Radcliffe has run some of the fastest marathons in history, but wretched luck with injuries and illness have contributed to her failure to win an Olympic medal in an otherwise successful career. At the 2004 Athens Games, she was forced to stop mid-race and dissolved into tears. Radcliffe was hampered by injury again four years ago in Beijing when she trailed home in the marathon in 23rd place after a stress fracture had disrupted her training.
