Britain's Paula Radcliffe has opted not to try for a third successive cross country crown at the IAAF worldchampionships later this month in order to concentrate all her energies on the London marathon.
Radcliffe, who smashed the women's marathon record in Chicago last year, is focused on lowering her own mark of two hours 17 minutes 18 seconds in London on April 13th.
"Paula's decision, taken after weeks of talks with her husband and trainers, reflects her determination to concentrate entirely on her main target, the London marathon," the English athletics association explained .
Radcliffe is the second big name to pull out of the March 29-30 event in Lausanne, Switzerland. Last month Sonia O'Sullivan was forced to withdraw after injuring an Achilles tendon.
AFP