Paula Radcliffe and the London Marathon

In the 2003 London Marathon, Paula Radcliffe not only won the women's race, but also set a world record of 2:15:25 (a time that no other women has yet come within 3 minutes of). It was actually better than any British male runner in that marathon. It was her second win for that marathon. In 2002, London was her first marathon ever. Later in 2002, she won the Chicago marathon with a time of 2:17:18.

After recovery from problems in the 2004 Athens Olympics, she won the 2004 New York Marathon in 2:23:10, just beating Susan Chepkemei of Kenya by 3 seconds. No won else has one three major races.

Well, she's planning to run London again this Sunday (4/17/05). One thing different this time is that she won't have male pacemakers (which she had in her world record race). The race is providing a $125K bonus if she can break her 2002 time of 2:18:56. She believes she can break her 2:15:25 record.

In researching her, I've come across her official website. It's one of the best sports star website I've seen.

Here are the detailed stats from her marathon wins:

Finish Time      City       Date
-----------      --------   ----------
2:23:10          New York   07 11 2004
        
2:15:25          London     13 04 2003
        
2:17:18          Chicago    13 10 2002
        
2:18:56          London     14 04 2002