Q - What's the difference between Paula Radcliffe and Hitler ? A - At least Hitler tried to finish the race. I'm sure you have all heard that joke before, along with various others about pulling up, pulling out and generally failing to complete things. the target of said puns, and paga upon page of vitriol in the press, was, until a failed Olympic marathon attempt, the golden girl of British athletics. Q - Who ran 12th in the '92 women's marathon ? We can be a dismal lot us Brits. For years our press has been saying "We must be more ruthless, we must achieve more, we must do better." Look what has happened, we have installed better, more ruthless, highly skilled coaches. Our cricket team has emerged from it's two decade doldrums, our football team competes well at the highest levels, our rugby union side took the fight to the Southern hemisphere and retunred with the world cup, our Olympians and Paralympians achieved record medal hauls, and even 'Tiger' Tim Henman isn't completely crap. I'm not defending Radcliffe blindly, there were c;learly problems with her training that led to her failure in the marathon, but the amount of criticism that was levelled at her after she failed to complete the 10,000m has been entirely unjustified. What should she have done, run herself into an injury ? Radcliffe possesses all the qualities we have been demanding from our athletes, she is determined, obsessive even, driven to perfection. She desires only to do better, to improve, to win and win and win again. Paula has now left the country to train in the USA, where she feels she will not face the endless pressure from press, media and public. Well done the couch potato, petty minded, build 'em up knock 'em down Brits, we've driven away one of our best. It shames me that I live in a nation that would chee Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards but could jeer Paula Radcliffe, what fools we can be. I sincerely hope that the next time Paula sets foot in a British stadium, the crowd absolutely raise the roof for her, and if you think of booing, just make sure that there isn't a ponytailed, bearded chap within slapping distance of you. Oh, and who came 12th in the '92 marathon ? I don't know, you don't know, we don't care, Valentina Yegorova won the gold medal though. P.S. As I penned that article a couple of weeks ago I hadn't yet heard that Paula will be running this months New York marathon, go on girl.