back to Awards & NomineesThe Inspiration Awards - Paula Radcliffe

Born in a blizzard in December 1973, it was similar conditions in which Paula had her first taste of global success. Back in 1992, Paula won the junior title at the World Cross Country Championships, beating the likes of Wang Junxia and Gete Wami by a significant margin. But the transition from junior to senior was never easy.

Early in 1998, Paula set the fastest debut time over 10,000m, covering the 25 laps in 30:48.58, the second-fastest time in the world for the 1998 season and a British record. However, suffering from a virus in the European Championships that year, Paula finished 5th over 10,000m, knowing she hadn't done herself justice and knowing there was more to come.

After taking time off to recover from the virus, Paula returned later that year to end the season on a high, winning the European Cross Country title, her first senior international title.

The 10,000m at the 1999 World Championships in Seville was then hailed as the greatest ever confrontation over the distance. Unfortunately for Paula it wasn't quite so great. Despite setting a huge personal best (30:27.13), Paula missed out on the gold by a few seconds and had to settle for silver behind Gete Wami, who unleashed a lethal sprint over the final 200m. A pattern was beginning to emerge...

Running on home soil in Manchester at the Commonwealth Games, Paula was taken aback at the crowd's support and enthusiasm. She started the 5000m running alongside the leading pack, but then made a move after the first few laps. From thereon in, she never looked back and continued to extend her lead over eventual 2nd-placer Edith Masai right up until the finish line. Her time (14:31.42) was a new British record and setting it in Britain made it all the more sweeter.

In a training session soon before Athens 2004 Olympics, a slight niggle in her leg developed into a debilitating pain, causing her leg to seize up completely. As the weeks progressed, the injury didn't improve. If anything, things were getting worse and time was running out. Paula's physical therapist, Gerard Hartman, prescribed a course of anti-inflammatories to help ease the swelling. But as the dosage increased, Paula's stomach started to feel the effects.

Race day soon arrived and although Paula felt drained and nowhere near well enough to race, this was the Olympics - a once-every-four-years opportunity and the biggest stage on which any athlete could compete. She wasn't going to give in without a fight. Choosing not to break away in usual fashion, she sensibly decided to stick with the leading pack. But sure enough, the stomach pains returned and the pain in her leg was very much present. After 20km, the Japanese athlete Mizuki Noguchi made a break and a few others tentatively pushed the pace in order to stay in contention. Visibly in pain, Paula kept giving everything she had in order to get through the race, desperately trying to take in every last drop of her carbohydrate drinks from the drinks-stations along the way. With just 6km to go however, she was running on empty and had nothing left, forced to pull out.

Distraught, exhausted and emotionally drained, Paula faced a difficult few days after the marathon. After much deliberation, she decided to enter the 10km race five days later. She reasoned "it came down to the fact that my next Olympic race was either in a few days or in four years." But after her body taking a beating from a brutal Marathon a few days prior, Paula dropped out of the 10km before she caused any serious damage to her leg.

Paula has openly admitted that Athens was the worst moment of her career. Some of that pain however, was remedied with a win at the New York Marathon almost three months after Athens. Many were apprehensive over Paula's decision to run, thinking it may end in further disappointment or another injury. Yet Paula maintained she was in decent shape and knew what she was doing. However, with the starting list shaping up to be one of the greatest female marathon fields ever assembled, even the most die-hard Paula fans would have had some doubt over how she would fare in the race.

With one of the most nail-biting and exciting finishes ever witnessed in marathon history, Paula won the New York race by four seconds over friend and rival, Susan Chepkemei. Paula's sprint finish in New York was reminiscent of her finish at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships and was a signal that her feet were firmly on the road to recovery. Her winning time at New York (2:23:10) was eight minutes slower than her world record, but three minutes quicker than the winning time in Athens. But Paula maintained the time wasn't important. "The time didn't matter today. What mattered was winning."

Here's hoping that the road to Beijing and beyond will bring many more wins and records along the way!