PAULA Radcliffe is a former long distance runner from the UK.
She has had an impressive career that can make anyone jealous – keep on reading to find out all about it.
Who is Paula Radcliffe?
Paula was born December 17, 1973 in Davenham near Northwich, Cheshire.
She was born to Peter and Pat Radcliffe.
Her great aunt is 1920 Olympic medallist Charlotte Radcliffe who was a competitive swimmer.
Her family later moved to Barnton and she attended Little Leigh Primary School.
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Paula started running at the age of seven despite being asthmatic and anaemic.
She was inspired by her father who was an amateur marathon runner and joined Frodsham Athletic Club.
The family later moved to Kingsley.
When Paula was 12, the family moved to Oakley, Bedfordshire and she joined the Bedford & County Athletics Club.
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During this time coach Alex Stanton was building the club's women's and girl's sections into one of the strongest in the country.
Paula's father became club vice-chairman and her mother, a fun-runner, managed the women's cross-country team.
She competed in her first national race at the age of 12 in 1986 when she placed 299th out of around 600 in the girls' race of the English Schools Cross Country Championships.
A year later in the same race she finished fourth.
Paula later attended Sharnbrook Upper School and Community College.
She studied at Loughborough University earning a first-class honours degree in Modern Languages.
What medals did Paula Radcliffe win?
Paula won the world junior cross country title in 1992 and entered a period of steady but sometimes frustrating progress in global track championships.
In 1993, she finished seventh in the world championship 3,000 meters and fifth in the 5,000 meters during the 1995 world championships and 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
She advanced to fourth in the 5,000 meters in 1997 and two years later set the pace in the world championship 10,000 meters in Sevilla, Spain.
However, during the last lap she was passed by Gete Wami from Ethiopia and finished second in 30 mins 27.13 sec.
During the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Paula pushed the pace again in the 10,000 meters, setting up a new Olympic record winner for Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia but finishing fourth herself.
Later that year Paula won the world half marathon title.
Paula won a world cross-country long course in March 2001 and successfully defended the title in early 2002.
She finished fourth in the 10,000 meters in the 2001 track world championship and chartered a course towards the marathon.
Paula trained in the Pyrenees and logged up to 225km (about 140 miles) per week in training.
She won her first marathon in London in April 2002 in 2 hours 18 minutes and 56 seconds.
Later that year she competed in the Chicago Marathon with her winning time 2 hours 17 minutes 18 seconds only 89 seconds from the women's world record for the marathon.
It also represented the biggest improvement in the sport in more than 17 years.
She later won two gold medals in 10 days.
One was at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in the 5,000 meters and the other at the European Championships, where she ran the second fastest women's 10,000 meters in the rain.
Paula set a new world record at the London Marathon in 2003 with a time of 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds.
Paula earned a spot at the 2004 Olympics but was forced to pull out due to an injury.
In 2003, she won the New York City Marathon and in 2005 claimed her third London Marathon before winning New York again 2007.
However, Paula finished a disappointing 23rd in the marathon at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing due to insufficient training after a stress fracture.
A few months later she won her third New York City Marathon but her appearances in 2010 were limited due to injuries and the birth of her second child.
Due to a foot injury, Paula wasn't able to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.
She announced her retirement in 2015 after that year's London Marathon.
Paula finished the marathon in 2 hours 36 minutes 55 seconds.
In recognition of her athletic achievements, Paula was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2002.
She published her memoir Paula: My Story So Far in 2002.
What was Paula Radcliffe's personal best?
According to Olympics.com, Paula's personal bests are:
- 5000. 14:29.11. 2004
- 10,000. 30:01.09. 2002
- Mar – 2-15:25. 2003.
Her best Olympics score is fourth at Sydney 2000.
Who is Paula Radcliffe's husband and did she have children?
Paula is married to Gary Lough, a former Northern Irish 1,500m runner whilst he was her lodger at Loughborough University.
The two got married in 2001.
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Their daughter Isla was born in 2007 and their son Raphael was born in 2010.
They currently live in Monte Carlo.
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