Radcliffe Clings on to Olympic Dream

Paula Radcliffe is refusing to give up on her Olympic dream despite being told it is "impossible" for her to make Beijing in top form. Radcliffe was originally thought to be suffering from a left hip injury but revealed today she had suffered a low-grade stress fracture to her femur.

The world marathon record holder admitted it was a "bombshell" to learn the news but insisted: "It's going to be tough but I'm not giving up. It's going to go down to the wire and I will need a bit of luck. It's been a nightmare last three weeks but I'm trying to stay calm about it.

"Everything has been done with Beijing in mind, it's been a huge focal point and it's hugely important to me. The World Championships come round every two years and I have won one but I haven't done what I want to at the Olympics and they only come around once every four years.

"I'm thinking positive. I am looking at it as 90-100% that I will be in Beijing, although other people will put it a lot lower. I can do it."

Radcliffe said she had been told by specialists it would now be "impossible" for her to complete enough training to be fully fit for this summer's Games in the Chinese capital, with the Olympic marathon scheduled for August 17.

But the 34-year-old, desperate to make up for failing to finish four years ago in Athens when hampered by a leg injury and stomach upset, added: "They felt it was not possible when I told them the levels of training I needed to do but I'm not giving up on it.

"They are more used to dealing with ordinary people. I will give it every chance. I know it's not going to be easy, I know I need to take certain risks and a bit of luck.

"I'm going to have to build up as carefully and quickly as I can. I think it's possible. You can't put a date on it, I'm well aware how quickly things can turn around.

"I won't go if I don't think I'm in decent enough shape. It's important for me to be at the Olympics but I won't go just to get the t-shirt. I'm not going to run through pain. That's going to answer my question if it's healed or not."

Radcliffe admitted she was "angry" the problem had not been correctly diagnosed earlier despite two MRI scans, one in Germany and one in England.

"No one really seems to be able to explain how it happened," she added. "There's a huge amount of frustration - I could have been on crutches earlier rather than walking around on it - but people are doing their job the best they can."

Radcliffe hopes to be able to resume running in two weeks' time and before then will be swimming and cross-training at her base in France. "I'm doing everything I can to accelerate the bone healing and that is generally a two-week period," she added. "We need to wait for the bone to harden up."

Radcliffe also revealed that one of the "scary tests" she had undergone in a bid to diagnose the problem had been for cancer. "One of the things could have been cancer in the bone but they ruled that out," she added. "They told me straight away because they could see my horrified face."