18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships - Birmingham 2009

News

Radcliffe withdraws from World Half

05 Oct 2009

Paula Radcliffe has withdrawn from the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team ahead of this weekend’s IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, due to tonsillitis.

A former champion on three occasions, Radcliffe was hoping to make up for her disappointment at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin in August – when she was forced to withdraw from the marathon in the week leading up to the event – by leading the team in a home championship.

Radcliffe said: “I’m devastated not to be able to compete in Birmingham this weekend. The World Half Marathon is a great opportunity for our athletes to compete in front of a home crowd and I’m disappointed I can’t be part of that.

“It’s very important to me to be able to pull on a GB vest and do my best in a major championship, but unfortunately, having developed tonsillitis over the weekend, I’m now on a course of antibiotics.”

Ian Stewart, Aviva GB & NI Team Leader, said: “We’re obviously hugely disappointed that Paula is unable to compete. She’s a former World Half Marathon champion on three occasions and brought a great deal of experience to the team. Had she been fit, there’s no doubt she would have been in contention for a medal, but we have a good team of athletes who still have an opportunity to fight for decent team positions, and I hope we can do that.”

She will be replaced in the team by first reserve Michelle Ross-Cope (City of Stoke).