2012 Olympics: Paula Radcliffe Out Of Marathon With Foot Injury

One of Great Britain's greatest Olympic hopes will not be able to participate in the first Summer Olympics on the British Isles in more than a half-century. An injury has reportedly forced Paula Radcliffe to watch the women's marathon rather than compete for a medal.

The Daily Mail was first to report that Radcliffe would miss the marathon, but Jason Henderson of Athletics Weekly is a member of the chorus reporting that Radcliffe is out. It was the Daily Mail report that Radcliffe, who has been suffering with a foot injury, took a shot at on Twitter early Sunday morning:

Hurt by dailymail & whoever thinks know my situation, before even do final test run. Not looking good but my heartbreaking news to break!

— Paula Radcliffe (@paulajradcliffe) July 29, 2012

But that "not looking good" was probably telling for the 38-year-old Radcliffe, who is the women's record holder in the marathon. The Daily Telegraph, which confirmed Radcliffe is out of the marathon, also got her lamentation.

Paula Radcliffe: "My sport is a beautiful sport, the downside is that it can break your heart and spirit many times over"

— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) July 29, 2012

Radcliffe has been star-crossed when it has come to running the marathon in the Olympics. Stomach problems helped force her to abandon the marathon in the 2004 Olympics, and a foot injury before the 2008 Olympics affected her conditioning and led to a 22nd-place finish in Beijing.

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