From the BBC’s Live: Women’s marathon website.
Mile 23
Disaster for Paula.She slows and then stops, unable to go any further. Having given everything in pursuit of that elusive Olympic gold, she is now in tears.
In response to the above, Brendan Foster has just talked out of his arse. According to Foster and admittedly I’m paraphrasing from memory here, winning gold in the Olympic marathon isn’t about being the best marathon runner in the world, it is being about being the best marathon runner over a tough hilly course on a hot evening in Athens. Well, the Olympics are being held over a tough hilly course on a hot evening in Athens. I doubt Mizuki Noguchi who has just won gold is going to be too worried about Radcliffe being the fastest marathon runner or the fact that Deena Kastor’s ‘conservative’ race style brought her from nowhere to finsh an emetic third. I would imagine that she’s thinking that she’s the Olympic marathon champion and that – after beating the hotly tipped favourite and the best the world has to offer – she was the best marathon runner in the world on the day.
I know pundits say things in the heat of the moment and that it is easy to criticise from my office chair but it’s my licence fee that’s paying his salary so I’m entitled to point out shortcomings. Off for a consolatory beer and snack.