Paula Radcliffe - bottle job

[Lord Large]

Fair play the woman is clearly talented and dedicated but never really delivers these days.

Not sure why the BBC are going on about her 'using her legendary willpower to finish'.

Not saying she should be slated but why do we still go over the top about our athletes when they fail?

 

[Lady Bracknell]

Whilst admiring anyone with the capability of running a Marathon (let alone at the sort of pace that qualifies you for the Olympics) I'm getting increasingly convinced that Paula Radcliffe is over-rated in every capacity except that of failing to meet whatever expectations have been demanded of her.

 

[bhaexpress]

Fair play the woman is clearly talented and dedicated but never really delivers these days.

Not sure why the BBC are going on about her 'using her legendary willpower to finish'.

Not saying she should be slated but why do we still go over the top about our athletes when they fail?

If you'd seen the end of the race you would have seen that she was limping very badly, she hasn't fully recovered from injury.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

She is recovering from a stress fracture to her femur and had not been able to train properly and managed to finish the race in a creditable 23rd position (23rd in the world!) despite her injury and lack of training. Oh and she has won countless titles in the past and holds many records.

 

[Lord Large]

Ah, I thought I had spelt her name with a D when it should have been a T. Can someone change the spelling in the thread title please?

As I said, I am not having a pop at her. Just don't see why the media go on about her. She is one of the Beeb's darlings I guess.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Ah, I thought I had spelt her name with a D when it should have been a T. Can someone change the spelling in the thread title please?

You're happy with calling him "Paul", I take it?

 

[bright1064]

She is the world record holder! She did well to finish at all after all her problems in the lead up to the race. Cut her some slack!

 

[Lady Bracknell]

'tis OK, your Lordship. Her surname is spelt with a "d". However I have taken the liberty of adding an "a" to her first name!

 

[black & white seagull]

Whilst admiring anyone with the capability of running a Marathon (let alone at the sort of pace that qualifies you for the Olympics) I'm getting increasingly convinced that Paula Radcliffe is over-rated in every capacity except that of failing to meet whatever expectations have been demanded of her.

There was me thinking she was world record-holder in the women's marathon...

 

[Barrel of Fun]

There was me thinking she was world record-holder in the women's marathon...

Neglecting to mention her overall record...

World Championships
Gold 2005 Helsinki Marathon
Silver 1999 Seville 10000 m

Commonwealth Games
Gold 2002 Manchester 5,000 m

European Championships
Gold 2002 Munich 10000 m

EuropeanCup
Gold 1998 Saint Petersburg 5000 m
Gold 1999 Paris 5000 m
Gold 2004 Bydgoszcz 5000 m
Silver 1998 Saint Petersburg 1500 m
Silver 2001 Bremen 5000 m
Bronze 1997 Munich 3000 m

World Half Marathon Championships
Gold 2000 Veracruz HM
Gold 2001 Bristol HM
Gold 2003 Vilamoura HM

World Cross Country Championships
Gold 1992 Boston Junior
Gold 2001 Ostend Snr, long
Gold 2002 Dublin Snr, long
Silver 1997 Turin Snr, long
Silver 1998 Marrakech Snr, long
Silver 2001 Ostend Snr, short
Bronze 1999 Belfast Snr, long

Marathons
Gold London Marathon 2002
Gold Chicago Marathon 2002
Gold London Marathon 2003
Gold New York City Marathon 2004
Gold London Marathon 2005
Gold New York City Marathon 2007

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

I thought that if she is fit and prepared she can beat a lot of the top mens times.

She is one of the best atletes/world champions we have ever had, olympics have always had bad timimgs for her.

May help if she joins the cycling team for 2012 will be guarenteed the medal she desires so much.

 

[Rookie]

amazing athlete, world record holder rated throughout the world, let herself down in Athens and no way she would have run yesterday (this morning) if she had a gold before hand. So much credit for giving it a go when clearly she was never going to be fit and in the shape to win it

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

26 miles , 3 month after breaking her leg. Yeah what a bottler

 

[empire]

i agree,but she was clearly not fit and ready,why go?have we got no other runners

 

[Rookie]

i agree,but she was clearly not fit and ready,why go?have we got no other runners

yes we have the lass that came in 6th

 

[blockhseagull]

Yeah f***ing hell, she has only won six marathons around the world, holds the world record and still beat one of the other British runners despite being on one leg for half the race.

God she is shit

:thud:

 

[beorhthelm]

yes we have the lass that came in 6th

so wait, we are talking about someone who came in 32nd rather than someone who came 6th. ffs.

judging by the list of honors above, the sad truth seems to be shes past her peak. with the injuries and lack of training she should probably have not competed.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Not this time. You could say that for Athens, this time she did actually try and finish while in very poor physical shape.

While I tend to agree with Roz, the issues this time are very different. Should she have run at all? Should she have been given so long to make her mind up? Should the decision have been taken out of her hands? Did her participation deprive another, fitter, athlete of competing at a better level?

And all against a backdrop of the biggest collective arse-lick in history in the commentary box. People aren't stupid, and if they hear her being lauded as some kind of saint glossing over all the tough questions, they will react badly.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

so wait, we are talking about someone who came in 32nd rather than someone who came 6th. ffs.

judging by the list of honors above, the sad truth seems to be shes past her peak. with the injuries and lack of training she should probably have not competed.

32nd :thud:

 

[Lady Bracknell]

I'd never dismiss her as a bottler nor undermine her achievements but I really do think that she suffers enormously from the expectations everyone else has of her when she's competing at Olympic level. Which is why I suspect she ran yesterday's marathon despite an injury and lack of training. The end result being that she didn't perform particularly well and having failed to meet expectations is seen to have failed the nation! It may well be that her career has peaked and if so I really hope she isn't persuaded to have yet another go at a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.