On This Day in 2003: Paula Radcliffe sets world marathon record

Paula Radcliffe set a stunning women’s world marathon record on this day in 2003 when she defended her London Marathon title.

Radcliffe became the first woman to run under two hours 16 minutes with a new record time of two hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds, to eclipse the record she had set when winning the Chicago Marathon six months earlier.

Radcliffe, then 29, was also the first Briton over the finishing line in the mixed sex event that used male pacemakers.

“I suffered some stomach cramps in the last five or six miles but that has happened before – it was only my body telling me I was hurting it,” Radcliffe said.

The Briton held the women only and mixed sex world marathon records until 2017 and 2019 respectively when a new record in both categories was set by Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei.

Radcliffe, awarded an MBE in 2002, went on to win the London Marathon for a third time in 2005 and sealed gold in the event at the World Championships in Helsinki later that year, but an Olympic medal at any distance eluded her.

She announced her retirement from competitive running after the London Marathon in 2015, aged 41.