Radcliffe ashamed after Athens

LONDON – Paula Radcliffe says she felt depressed, embarrassed and ashamed after leaving the Athens Olympics following her tearful exit from the marathon.

The 30-year-old Briton has never considered retiring or taking time out, however, and says she now wants to put the events of last month firmly behind her. “For a while it felt as though I would never get over it,” she told the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday.”I was extremely depressed and exhausted and struggled to see beyond what I had lost and how hard I and many others around me had worked for it.”I didn’t want to go out and face the world, feeling embarrassed and ashamed and unable to handle concern and sympathy, let alone criticism, without breaking down,” she added.The world record holder and pre-race favourite, who has never won a title at a major championship, led for the first half of the marathon but, having dropped to fourth after nearly two hours of the race, she stopped six kilometres from the end.She tried to restart before slumping by the side of the road in tears.Radcliffe, who ran in the 10,000 metres five days later and failed to finish that race as well, said her Athens experience had been the most traumatic of her life.”For a while it felt as though I would never get over it,” she told the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday.”I was extremely depressed and exhausted and struggled to see beyond what I had lost and how hard I and many others around me had worked for it.”I didn’t want to go out and face the world, feeling embarrassed and ashamed and unable to handle concern and sympathy, let alone criticism, without breaking down,” she added.The world record holder and pre-race favourite, who has never won a title at a major championship, led for the first half of the marathon but, having dropped to fourth after nearly two hours of the race, she stopped six kilometres from the end.She tried to restart before slumping by the side of the road in tears.Radcliffe, who ran in the 10,000 metres five days later and failed to finish that race as well, said her Athens experience had been the most traumatic of her life.