Athens Dust Clouds Radcliffe's Hopes

Paula Radcliffe's hopes of a gold in the Olympic marathon this month could be derailed by the construction delays that have blighted the build-up to the games' return to Athens.

The 30-year-old is Britain's brightest gold medal prospect, but there are fears she may be disadvantaged by the dust in the city air from last-minute building works.

Diagnosed with asthma at 14, Radcliffe could be particularly vulnerable to cement dust along the 26-mile route from Marathon to Athens city centre.

Mike Whittingham, performance director of UK Sport, the body responsible for funding many British competitors, warned the dust could be Radcliffe's biggest opponent.

"The quality of the air itself is not such a problem, but the real concern is cement dust," he said.

"The athletes have prepared for the heat, but with the authorities building up until the last minute there will be a lot of dust in the air.

"If the wind blows on the day of the marathon there will be a lot of people very upset."

The women's marathon a week on Sunday is meant to be one of the showpiece events.

The race will retrace the route of the ancient messenger Pheidippides, who dashed to Athens in 490BC to declare a Greek victory over the Persians before falling dead.

The race will begin in Marathon itself and end in the magnificent marble horseshoe of the Panathinaikos stadium in central Athens, site of the first modern games in 1896.

With thousands expected to line the 26-mile route and television demanding a spectacular view, Olympic organisers embarked on a lengthy road-widening programme.

Work began behind schedule and earlier this year the main contractor was sacked after admitting he could not afford to pay workers who had resorted to blocking traffic to make their point.

Construction work was only completed 10 days ago.

A spokeswoman for the ministry of public works said: "There is not very much we can say about this, dust is everywhere and has always been a problem."

The race will start at 6pm local time in temperatures that could still be over 27C (80F). Radcliffe's three previous marathons have all been run in cooler conditions and while she is the world record holder by a huge margin, this will be the toughest test yet.

While 271 of the 357 British competitors checked into the Olympic village yesterday Radcliffe was still at her training camp in France.