Paula Radcliffe Gearing Up For London Gold

She’s taking unprecedented risks with her training.

Paula Radcliffe, the world-record holder in the marathon, is on a quest: to win gold at the Olympic Marathon this summer in London. The 38-year-old British runner has had a bad track record at the longest race at the Olympics. She dropped out of the 2004 race in Athens and, four years later in Beijing, she finished a disappointing 23rd.

This time around, Radcliffe is pulling out all the stops, as it may be her last chance for that elusive medal.

The 130-mile weeks have taken their toll on Radcliffe, who is training in Kenya presently.

After waking up with a tightness in her right hamstring, she insisted on being driven to a hospital in Eldoret. She was eventually given a clean bill of health.

“Any other time I would have put it down to tiredness, but because it’s an Olympic year you just freak about things,” she admitted. “I’ve learned that. You can do everything right and it can still go wrong a few weeks before. You have to push and take risks otherwise you’re not going to get the end result, but you are a lot more wary after my history.”

For More: The Telegraph