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Radcliffe already looking at chances for London 2012
Paula Radcliffe is planning to continue her quest for Olympic gold in London in four years' time when she will be the grand old lady of marathon running.
Radcliffe could manage only 23rd place in the women's marathon on the streets of Beijing after her lack of preparation due to injury caught up with her in the latter stages of the race.
But, after finishing in agony from her calves and after shedding a bucket-load of frustrated tears in the Bird's Nest stadium, she insisted the support of a home crowd could help her lay her Olympic jinx in London 2012.
Radcliffe, who failed to finish in Athens four years ago, said: "Absolutely. I'll be 38. The marathon is one event where you can keep going and maybe one year I'll get some luck and have a good build-up.
"The support I'd have in London would be great too. I knew I was pushing it to come here. But I would have done all that hard work for nothing if I hadn't got to the finish line. I am still keeping my fingers crossed for 2012."
If she needed any reassurance that Olympic triumph was possible at such a mature age then it came from marathon champion Constantina Tomescu who ran away from the field in cool and drizzly conditions to take the gold medal at the age of 38 years and eight months.
Tomescu recorded a time of 2:26.44, more than 11 minutes slower than Radcliffe's world-best mark set in London in 2003.
Catherine Ndereba of Kenya took silver and China's Chunxiu Zhou the bronze while Britain's Mara Yamauchi, a 35-year-old Oxford graduate whose husband is Japanese, ran the race of her life to finish sixth in 2:27.29.
Britain's Liz Yelling courageously finished 26th after falling and cracking a rib.
But it was Tomescu's controlled performance which was the inspiration for Radcliffe, who had begun full-time running again only in the last fortnight following her injury lay-off with a stress fracture in her left femur.
Radcliffe added: "It's not the end. I knew I was pushing it coming in with three-and-a-half weeks of running. You can't take shortcuts in the marathon and I guess I learned that.
"Fingers crossed for 2012. Look at Constantina – maybe I can do that in 2012 if my body holds up.
"I can't look back at any point and wished I'd done more because we did as much as we could at every point. I just ran out of time really.
"I don't think this is redemption for Athens but it would have been for nothing if I hadn't finished."
Kelly Sotherton will also postpone retirement to have one more attempt at a global heptathlon title after finishing a disappointing fifth.
Sotherton won bronze in Athens four years ago and came into the event as one of the favourites in the absence of champion Carolina Kluft.
But after a year disrupted by illness and injury and ended up 102 points off a bronze medal and 216 adrift of new champion Nataliia Dobrynska.
"If I had won gold or silver I would have quit," said Sotherton. "But I'll do another year. I want to at least win the World Championship."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
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