Radcliffe ends long wait with marathon triumph

Briton Paula Radcliffe ended her long wait for a first global gold by winning the world marathon title on the streets of Helsinki yesterday.

The 31-year-old world record holder put her Athens Olympics disappointment behind her, when she failed to finish the marathon and 10,000 metres, to win in a championship record of two hours, 20 minutes and 57 seconds.

"This was for me," said Radcliffe.

"It was important for me to win this title because I knew I was capable of doing it and my team knew that too. I knew I was in good shape."

The Englishwoman raised her arms in triumph at the finish before embracing husband Gary Lough.

Radcliffe, whose winning time was over five minutes slower than the world record she set in London in 2003, then sportingly clapped silver medallist Catherine Ndereba home.

Ndereba clocked 2:22:01 and Romania's Constantina Tomescu (2:23:19) won the bronze after battling it out with Radcliffe through the middle stages.