Paula Radcliffe arrived back in the UK today after her Olympic double agony in Athens.
The marathon world record holder flew into London’s Heathrow airport this afternoon after hopes of a dramatic comeback ended in Athens last night.
The 30-year-old athlete packed her bags and left Athens earlier today after pulling out of the 10,000 metres with almost eight laps to go last night.
Her exist from the race dashed hopes of a dramatic turnaround in her fortunes just five days after she pulled out of the marathon.
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She landed at Heathrow airport’s Terminal One at 4.20pm on a British Airways flight from Athens.
Wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans, a shell-shocked-looking Radcliffe was ushered out through a side door by airport staff without passing through the main arrivals hall.
Asked how she felt, as she prepared to get into a car, she replied simply: “Tired.”
Defending herself against critics who say that she should have finished the race she replied: “The first one, I couldn’t finish,” - nodding her head when asked if that meant physically.
She continued: “The second one I don’t have any regrets because it was me out there running. It wasn’t anybody else.
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“The person out there running has to make the decision.
“I went out there to give myself a chance of running well.”
Asked whether she had been able to put the race out of her mind, she said: “I just can’t stop thinking about it.”
And when pressed on what’s next on the horizon, the golden girl of British marathon said: “I have to get right, I have to get healthy first and recover.”