Product Description
Paula Radcliffe has managed to be both very successful in her field and incredibly popular with the Great British Public. She was the underdog for so long -- narrowly missing out on medals in the 1999 World Championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics -- that fans longed to see her win. Paula's rosy manner hides a tough resolve to succeed and in 2002 her luck began to turn. She won gold medals at both the Commonwealth and European championships and started to grab the headlines, bringing Britain's focus back to athletics. Paula's bravery is not limited to the track, however. She has become a passionate spokesperson against drug cheats and, inspired by her own battle with the condition, she is widely admired for her patronage of asthma charities. And even though Athens in 2004 proved to be more Greek tragedy than triumph, her popularity remains undimmed. Her remarkable life story of highs and lows is fully chronicled in this fascinating and inspiring autobiography.
From the Inside Flap
Paula Radcliffe has been hailed as one of the finest female distance runners of all time. Her amazing run of record-breaking victories in 2002 and 2003, including smashing the women’s world marathon record in Chicago and then again in London, showed an athlete at the peak of her powers – and her popularity. Such was her dominance that a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens seemed almost a formality. But as the world watched, and a nation held its breath, that historic race ended for her on a dusty kerbside instead of the podium.
Athens showed in heartbreaking and dramatic fashion that, for Paula, success has been hard-won. She was the underdog for so long – narrowly missing out on medals at the 1999 World Championships and the 2000 Sydney Olympics – and fans longed to see her win. But Paula’s eternally rosy manner and palpable decency hide a tough resolve to succeed, and she has never allowed high-profile losses to dent her confidence. With the support and guidance of her husband, the former 1,500-metre runner Gary Lough, and coach Alex Stanton, she remodelled her training schedule and emerged triumphant, winning gold medals at both the Commonwealth and European championships and grabbing headlines which have brought Britain’s focus back to athletics.
Paula’s bravery is not limited to the track, however. She has won many admirers for her work for asthma research – inspired by her own conquering of the condition – and has also been an outspoken campaigner against drug cheats in her sport, wearing a red ribbon symbolising her readiness to be tested for banned substances at any time.
What has driven this ‘quintessential girl next door’ to achieve so much, and how does she deal with the weight of expectation that now accompanies her? And what really happened that hot Athens afternoon? Paula Radcliffe reveals the true story behind the triumphs and trials in the most eagerly anticipated sports autobiography of the year.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
by Kelly Holmes
by Kelly Holmes
by Jim Denison
by Richard Askwith
