Paula Radcliffe has been forced to withdraw from the World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham because of tonsillitis.
World record holder forced to miss championships
Paula Radcliffe has been forced to withdraw from the World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham because of tonsillitis.
The illness is a further blow for the three-time former champion, who was forced to miss the World Athletics Championships in Berlin because of problems with her fitness.
The marathon world record holder underwent a foot operation earlier in the year and failed to recover in time for the August event.
Radcliffe will now be forced to sit out of this weekend's championships after falling ill with the infection.
"I'm devastated not to be able to compete in Birmingham this weekend," she said.
"The world half marathon is a great opportunity for our athletes to compete in front of a home crowd and I'm disappointed I can't be part of that.
"It's very important for me to be able to pull on a GB vest and do my best in a major championship, but, unfortunately, having developed tonsillitis over the weekend, I'm now on a course of antibiotics."
