World record holder Radcliffe out of marathon

Berlin: World record holder Paula Radcliffe has decided not to run in the world championships marathon after failing to get back to full fitness after foot surgery, UK Athletics officials said.

Radcliffe, the 2005 world champion, missed much of the season recovering from the injury but raced the New York half-marathon last weekend to test her fitness. She won the race impressively but, after recovering, decided she was not fit enough to take on the full distance on Saturday. "I am devastated that I wasn`t able to be ready in time to represent Britain here in Berlin, especially having got so close in such a short time frame," the 35-year-old said in a statement. "However, after having the surgery to successfully put the years of injury behind me it is very important to me that I come back to racing often and winning at 100 percent and continue strongly and successfully through to London 2012.”"Running in New York was a necessary part of the process to ascertain my race fitness and, after speaking with my coaching and medical team, I knew I was sadly just not quite ready," added Radcliffe. UK head coach Charles van Commenee said: "To lose an athlete of Paula`s calibre is disappointing to say the least. A fit Paula would clearly be in contention to regain that title, but she has taken that difficult decision and we have to respect that." Bureau Report