Athletics: Paula Radcliffe names Athlete of the Decade

Some of sports greatest names were celebrated in the 2010 England Athletics Hall of Fame and Volunteer awards. Eight athletes spanning over a century and one Athlete of the Decade (2000-2009) made it into the Hall of Fame, reminding us of some of Great Britain’s best sporting figures.

World Record holder, Paula Radcliffe, was awarded the accolade of Athlete of the Decade, chosen for redefining the boundaries of women’s marathon running. Her record of 2:15:15, set at the London Marathon in 2003, is still more than three minutes faster than any of female has ever run. Radcliffe also won the London and New York marathon three times and lifted the world marathon title at Helsinki in 2005.

Her running career has had its ups and downs but no one can doubt the determination and class she has showed throughout her time. In 1991 she became World Junior Cross Country Champion, then UK 5000m record holder five years later. 2001 saw Radcliffe claim the World Half Marathon title and 2002 seemed most definitely to be ‘her’ year.

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Athletics: Disappointment for Paula Radcliffe in New York

Athletics: Radcliffe wins in New York

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After retaining her World Cross Country title, she made her marathon debut in London, clocking the second fastest ever time of 2:15:56, a world record for a women-only race. This was followed by a Commonwealth 3000m record and superb victories at both the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships. The year ended with a world record of 2:17:18 in the Chicago Marathon. In April 2003 she clocked her world record time which still stands today, showing the world of athletics what she was really made of.

A lack of an Olympic gold medal is the only gap in her career, her closest being the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she finished an agonising fourth in the 10,000m. Weakened by injury and illness she failed to complete the marathon at Athens in 2004 and four years later in Beijing she finished 23^rd.

But it’s not all about Olympic golds and there is no denying Radcliffe has been a central figure in British athletics the past decade.

Other athletes to make it into the Hall of Fame were P.W ‘Jimmy’ Green, founder of the magazine that would evolve into Athletics Weekly; John Le Masurier, coach to a number of top British athletes; Denis Watts, Principal National Coach and British international long jumper and triple jumper; Walter George, a runner who won national titles at distances from 880 yards to 10 miles. He set a world mile record of 4:12 ¾ that remained unbeaten until 1915; Albert Hall, star of the 1920 Olympic Games, completing a 800m/1500m double; Linford Christie, Britain’s most successful 100m runner; Brendan Foster, the 1976 Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist and the Great North Run founder; Dame Kelly Holmes, 2004 800m and 1500m Olympic Champion.

England Athletics Head of Marketing and Strategy, Chris Jones, said of the event, “To see the joy on the faces of the inductees shows how much they value being regocnised by the wider athletics community and it is important we recognise what these people have done for our sport.”

Kirsty Page, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine