Paula Radcliffe facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Paula Radcliffe
MBE

Radcliffe at the 2008 New York City Marathon
Personal information
Born	(1973-12-17) 17 December 1973 (age 51) Davenham, Cheshire, England
Height	5 ft 8 in
Weight	119 lb
Spouse(s)	Gary Lough
Sport
Country	Great Britain  England
Club	Bedford & County Athletic Club Nike, Beaverton
Retired	April 2015
Achievements and titles
World finals	1993 3000 m, 7th 1995 5000 m, 5th 1997 5000 m, 4th 1999 10,000 m, 2 Silver 2001 10,000 m, 4th 2005 10,000 m, 9th Marathon, 1 Gold
Olympic finals	1996 5000 m, 5th 2000 10,000 m, 4th 2004 Marathon, DNF 10,000 m, DNF 2008 Marathon, 23rd
Personal best(s)	3000 m: 8:22.20 NR (Monaco 2002) 5000 m: 14:29.11 (Bydgoszcz 2004) 10,000 m: 30:01.09 (Munich 2002) Half marathon: 65:40a NR (South Shields 2003) Marathon: 2:15:25 NR (London 2003)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Great Britain World Championships Gold 2005 Helsinki Marathon Silver 1999 Seville 10,000 m World Cross Country Championships Gold 2002 Dublin Long race Gold 2001 Ostend Long race Gold 1992 Boston Junior race Silver 2001 Ostend Short race Silver 1998 Marrakech Long race Silver 1997 Turin Long race Bronze 1999 Belfast Long race World Half Marathon Championships Gold 2003 Vilamoura Individual Gold 2001 Bristol Individual Gold 2000 Veracruz Individual European Championships Gold 2002 Munich 10,000 m European Cross Country Championships Gold 2003 Edinburgh Individual Gold 2003 Edinburgh Team Gold 1998 Ferrara Individual European Cup Gold 2004 Bydgoszcz 5000 m Gold 1999 Paris 5000 m Gold 1998 Saint Petersburg 5000 m Silver 2001 Bremen 5000 m Silver 1998 Saint Petersburg 1500 m Bronze 1997 Munich 3000 m Representing  England Commonwealth Games Gold 2002 Manchester 5000 m

Paula Jane Radcliffe (born 17 December 1973) is a famous British long-distance runner. She is known for winning the London Marathon three times (2002, 2003, 2005) and the New York Marathon three times (2004, 2007, 2008). For 16 years, she held the world record for the fastest women's marathon with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 25 seconds.

Radcliffe was a world champion in the marathon, half marathon, and cross country. She also won a gold medal in the 5000 metres at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She represented Great Britain at the Olympics in four different Olympic Games, from 1996 to 2008.

For her amazing achievements, Radcliffe received many awards. These include the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) from the Queen. In 2010, she was added to the England Athletics Hall of Fame.

Early Life and First Steps in Running

Paula Radcliffe was born on December 17, 1973, in Davenham, Cheshire, England. Her father was a keen amateur marathon runner, and he inspired her to start running when she was seven. Even though she had health issues like asthma and anaemia, she was determined to run.

When she was 12, her family moved to Oakley, Bedfordshire. There, she joined the Bedford & County Athletics Club. A talented coach named Alex Stanton saw her potential and helped her become a strong athlete.

Her first big race was in 1986 at the English Schools Cross Country Championships. She placed 299th, but just one year later, she finished in fourth place. This showed how quickly she was improving.

A Champion in the Making

Radcliffe's professional career began to take off in the 1990s. In 1992, she won the Junior title at the 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. This was a huge victory against talented runners from around the world.

Throughout the 1990s, she competed in many world-class events. She won silver medals at the 1997 and 1998 World Cross Country Championships. In 1999, she won a silver medal in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships.

By 2000, Radcliffe was one of Britain's top athletes. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, she set a new British record in the 10,000 metres but just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth. Later that year, she won her first world title at the 2000 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.

Queen of the Marathon

Paula Radcliffe leading the London Marathon in 2005.

In 2002, Radcliffe decided to start running the full marathon, which is 26.2 miles long. It was a great decision. She won her very first race, the 2002 London Marathon, with the second-fastest time ever for a woman.

Later that year, she broke the world record at the Chicago Marathon. But her most famous race was the 2003 London Marathon. She set a new world record of 2:15:25, a time that remained unbeaten for 16 years.

In 2005, she won the World Championships marathon in Helsinki, Finland. She dominated the race and set a new championship record. During the 2005 London Marathon, she famously had to stop during the race due to severe runner's diarrhoea and stomach cramps. Despite this, she still won the race.

Olympic Challenges and Later Career

Paula Radcliffe at the New York City Marathon in 2007.

Although Radcliffe was a world champion, she had a tough time at the Olympic Games. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, she was the favorite to win the marathon. However, a leg injury and stomach problems forced her to pull out of the race. It was a very difficult moment for her.

Despite setbacks, Radcliffe never gave up. She returned to win the New York City Marathon in 2004, 2007, and 2008. Her victory in 2007 came after a two-year break to have her first child.

Injuries continued to be a problem in her later career. She had to pull out of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London because of a foot injury. Radcliffe officially ended her competitive marathon career at the 2015 London Marathon.

Standing Up for Fair Sport

Radcliffe has always been a strong voice against cheating in sports. She believes that athletes who use banned substances to get an advantage should be caught and punished.

She often wore a red ribbon while competing. This was to show her support for more testing to catch athletes who cheat. In 2001, she and a teammate held up a sign that said "EPO Cheats Out" to protest an athlete who had been allowed to compete after a positive test.

In 2015, some people questioned her own test results. However, the world's top athletics organizations investigated and announced that she had done nothing wrong. They stated that the accusations were based on a misunderstanding of her test data.

Personal Life

Paula Radcliffe with her daughter Isla at the 2007 New York City Marathon.

Radcliffe married Gary Lough, a former runner from Northern Ireland, in 2001. They have two children, a daughter named Isla (born in 2007) and a son named Raphael (born in 2010).

After retiring from running, Radcliffe has worked as a commentator for the BBC, sharing her expert knowledge of athletics with viewers. She wrote an autobiography in 2004 called Paula: My Story So Far.

Images for kids

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  Radcliffe in the 2015 London Marathon

See also

In Spanish: Paula Radcliffe para niños