Paula Radcliffe reflects on 'year of hell' over doping accusation
Last Updated: 29/11/15 10:46am
Paula Radcliffe says she has been through "12 months of hell" after being dragged into the doping scandal that has rocked athletics.
Radcliffe went public in September to defend her name after claiming she had effectively been identified by a committee of MPs as having provided suspicious blood samples.
Athletics' world governing body the IAAF has since cleared Radcliffe of any wrongdoing, saying the three-times London Marathon winner and the current marathon world record holder had "clearly plausible explanations for the values in her profile that are entirely innocent".
But Radcliffe, who retired earlier this year, revealed that the incident had not only affected her life but that of her young family as well.
"I have had to endure 12 months of hell. The children have been affected by it... all the phone calls and the worry, all the ruined holidays because mum and dad are busy talking to lawyers," Radcliffe told the Mail on Sunday.
"I've never been in that position before where you haven't done anything wrong but people think you're guilty.
"I had letters from 10 separate people who had almost committed suicide because they were accused of something they didn't do.
"I was very angry with WADA and UK Anti-Doping about the way it was handled.
"When the issue was brought up in the select committee they had the perfect opportunity to say there had never been any question about any samples of British athletes.
"Or, if they weren't going to defend me, they should have invited me so I could defend myself. I can explain those readings but no one invites me to these things.
"You have to take the figures in context. You have to look at what was happening at the time. No one did that. They looked at the figures and came to all the wrong conclusions."
