A closer look at Paula Radcliffe’s life away from athletics ahead of the London Marathon
British athletics icon Paula Radcliffe secured three London Marathon victories during her illustrious career. The 46th edition of the annual event is set to take place on Sunday.
The 52-year-old became a household name through her many accomplishments, claiming marathon, half-marathon and cross-country world titles. Beyond her London successes, Radcliffe also triumphed in three New York Marathons and the 2002 Chicago Marathon.
Her time of two hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds at the 2003 London Marathon remained a mixed-field women’s world record for 16 years. The four-time Olympian announced her retirement from competitive racing in 2015 but returned to run the Tokyo and Boston Marathons last year.
While she experienced remarkable success throughout her distinguished athletics career, Radcliffe has also faced challenging times in her personal life. Here, Mirror Sport examines the Team GB legend’s life beyond the sport.
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Net worth
The three-time London Marathon champion has an estimated net worth of around £6million. The former world champion earned substantial amounts in prize money and has also increased her wealth through various investments.
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Radcliffe utilised part of her earnings to establish a property portfolio. In an interview with The Telegraph, Radcliffe previously spoke about her collection of homes.
“In Monaco we rent, but we kept our four-bedroom house in Loughborough and let it,” Radcliffe explained. “I also own a student house I bought in 1996 and I let that.
“I’m lucky because I don’t have a mortgage on either property. So, although they will undoubtedly have fallen in value, at least they are earning something for me.
“We can’t afford to buy in Monaco – everything here is very expensive. Two-bedroom apartments cost anything from £1m up to £6m or £7m for a really good location with views. I’m certainly not in that bracket.”
Reason for leaving the UK
Radcliffe chose to leave the UK shortly after sustaining a leg injury at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. She experienced stomach problems as a result of her medication and failed to finish the marathon, while also withdrawing from the 10,000m event, in which she had been among the leading contenders for gold.
In the wake of the ordeal, Radcliffe and her husband Gary Lough, a former middle-distance runner, opted to make the move to Monaco. Partly driven by a desire to escape the spotlight in the UK, Radcliffe also wished to train overseas and for her future children to grow up bilingual.
“I found it too distressing to stay in England after what happened in Athens,” she admitted to The Telegraph. “I felt like I’d let the country down. I decided I didn’t want to live somewhere where I was recognised all the time.”
Daughter’s battle with cancer
Radcliffe met her husband while they were both at Loughborough University and tied the knot in 2001. The couple have two children, with their daughter Isla born in 2007 and their son Raphael following in 2010. The family was dealt a devastating blow when Isla was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer at just 13 years old. Radcliffe described how quickly events unfolded after her daughter became unwell.
“On the Tuesday she visited the doctor, we had a scan on the Wednesday and one week later we were already in the hospital starting the first round of chemo,” Radcliffe told the Radio Times.
“It’s the hardest thing a parent can go through. You can support them and be with them the whole way through, but you can’t do that chemo for them. It’s horrible to watch your child suffering through that, but at the same time we believed that if it felt bad, it was killing the cancer.”
Isla was subsequently given the all-clear and last year followed in her mother’s famous footsteps by completing the London Marathon.
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