Posted: March 18, 2004

Athletics: Radcliffe Out Of World Cross

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

BRUSSELS (18-Mar) -- U.K. Athletics announced today that multiple world record holder Paula Radcliffe had withdrawn from this weekend's IAAF World Cross Country Championships with an injury.

"At the beginning of this week Radcliffe suffered a small hamstring strain while completing her final preparations for the World Cross," said spokeswoman Emily Lewis in a press releast. "The minor problem has responded well to treatment but has not recovered sufficiently to allow Radcliffe to cope with racing on a demanding cross country course this weekend."

Radcliffe said: "I am really disappointed to have to withdraw as training has gone really well and I was looking forward to racing well in Brussels."

Radcliffe is not the only Briton to withdraw from these championships. Some members of the British press corps, like David Powell of the Times of London, have cancelled, while others who just arrived today were severely disappointed with the news.

"I think it's such a pity that we won't get to see her run against the likes of Tulu or Dibaba," said long-time British statistician and writer, Mark Butler. "I can fully understand why she wouldn't take the slightest risk," he added, pointing to the Olympic Games this summer where Radcliffe is expected to run the marathon.

Radcliffe was to appear at tomorrow's IAAF press conference, leaving the organizers scrambling for a replacement.

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