Paula Radcliffe insists failure to win an elusive Olympic medal at London 2012 will not define her career.
Marathon star says London glory isn't be all and end all
Paula Radcliffe insists failure to win an elusive Olympic medal at London 2012 will not define her career.
The 37-year-old has never made the podium at any of her four previous Games, finishing fifth over 5,000 metres in 1996 and fourth over 10,000m in 2000 while she was unable to finish the marathon in 2004 and came 23rd in 2008.
But Radcliffe still has a lot to be proud of in her career having become world marathon champion in 2005 and also remains world record holder over the distance, regardless of whether proposed new rules classify her times as a "world best" in a mixed race or the world record in a women-only event.
Radcliffe knows next year in London is her last chance to put her Olympic record right, with Sunday's Berlin marathon giving her the opportunity to run the qualifying time of two hours 31 minutes.
Asked if she would swap Olympic gold for all her other achievements, Radcliffe said: "I've worked very hard for everything that I've got and I wouldn't swap any of them.
"Your life is your life and what you make of it and I don't think you can make deals and swap bits of it. I'm a big believer in perseverance and if something doesn't work you try differently and try harder. For the Olympics I'll just keep doing that.
"I've also come to terms with the fact that while I very much want an Olympic medal, that's not going to define my whole life. That doesn't mean I want it any less or am going to try any less hard, but I wouldn't swap the things that I have achieved because they are very important in their own right.
Excitement
"I look towards London with excitement and see it as a really special opportunity to have the chance to compete in an Olympics on home ground. I have very happy memories of London. I know the streets. I know we'll have great support so I'm excited to have the chance to take part.
"In terms of pressure, I think looking at it realistically it might well be my last Olympics, so wherever it was there would be pressure because I feel I haven't done as well in an Olympic marathon as I'm capable of.
"The fact that it's in London only adds good things rather than bad things. The pressure comes from yourself to make sure you can go out and put in a good performance."
Radcliffe's last performance was described by herself as "a disaster" after she finished third in the BUPA London 10,000 in May while suffering with a torn disc in her back.
She recovered quickly from that setback, but has also been plagued by an overactive thyroid gland which was only finally resolved in August.
"I was able to do all the training but some of the workouts were up and down," Radcliffe added. "Once we realised what was going on it settled down by August and the last four weeks has gone really well.
"The goal (on Sunday) is just to go out and run well and win the race. The Olympic qualification time is something I need to do and although I would love to run another marathon between now and next year, the best preparation would be for this to be the only one.
"For that reason the time needs to be ticked off, but I'm not going out and running with a time in mind, that I need to run these splits to achieve. I'm just going out to race and hopefully the time comes with it.
"It's really important first and foremost because it's been a pretty crappy year in terms of being able to get out and race. The biggest thing to get out of this race is just to relax and be happy that I've finally got to this point where I can go and race."
