Radcliffe continues winning streak in Great North
Cross
By Samuel Richards
30 December 2000 - Consett, England - Paula Radcliffe has for so long been the girl who would trail in behind Ethiopia’s Derartu Tulu—at the World Cross Country Championships in Vilamoura in March and then in the 10,000 metres final at the Olympic Games.
In Sydney, Radcliffe had taken the lead after 150m but with a lap to go, she succumbed to the power of Tulu, the British star finishing fourth, collapsing over the line and knowing she could not have given any more.
But on Saturday, on a course filled with snow in Consett, County Durham, in the North East of England, Radcliffe ended the year in a style she hopes to carry through to the new one. By delivering one of the biggest defeats of Tulu’s career.
Radcliffe won the 6km race at the Great North Cross Country--75 seconds ahead of Tulu who was next home.
How decisive was the victory? By the time the Ethiopian finished, Radcliffe was conducting an interview with the course commentator, Tulu listening to her out-of-breath rival talking while she was still running.
Time-wise, it was one of the biggest defeats of Tulu’s career and means the pair begin the countdown to this year’s World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, suddenly with dramatically different approaches.
Radcliffe has a new degree of confidence while Tulu will re-asses this heavy loss.
Since Tulu’s triumph in Sydney, Radcliffe has won the Great North Run, the World Half-Marathon Championships and now this race the Ethiopian was outclassed. There was no other word for it.
"She finishes fast and I needed to be as far in front as I could," said Radcliffe. "There are more than one way of winning a race, not just in the finishing straight.
"Once I got the gap, I just put my head down and I did not let go. I love running in the snow. I felt I was struggling going up the hills but every time I went down them, I was taking a bit more each lap. I am further on with my preparations at this stage than in the last few years and I know you cannot give Tulu an opening. Let’s hope the snow is still around by the time of Dublin!"
Radcliffe has always threatened to deliver on the big stage but never achieved it, missing out too often on the track, setting up the races for others to win. At the World Championships in Seville, she led in the 10,000m final before Ethiopian Gete Wami took over on the final lap, Radcliffe taking silver.
Radcliffe won in Consett in 20mins, 21 secs, Tulu was second in 21.36mins and Britain’s Cathy Butler third in 21.44mins.
Along with this three, Hungary’s European Cross Country Champion Katalin Szentgyorgyi was in a quartet which made an early break before Radcliffe took over.
