Radcliffe in Calf Injury Scare

Paula Radcliffe, Britain's main hope for an Olympic gold medal, arrived in the athletes' village here yesterday amid reports she had visited Munich last month to receive treatment for a calf injury which could affect her preparations for the marathon next week.

The German coach Volker Wagner spotted the world record holder at the clinic of the German doctor Hans Wilhelm Müller Wohlfahrt.

Müller Wohlfahrt, who has previously worked with Linford Christie, José María Olazábal and a host of footballers, treated the Briton after she travelled from her altitude-training base at Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees.

Radcliffe, the favourite to win on Sunday, had not been due to arrive in the village until Thursday but she turned up early. She then cancelled a planned telephone conference call with Britain's athletics writers. It was the first occasion in which she had refused to cooperate with the media, and it led to speculation that she is struggling to cope with the pressure.

The Bedford runner, 30, has made only two track appearances this summer, both of which demonstrated that she was in fantastic shape. In Poland she ran the fastest 5,000 metres ever by a European-born runner and a fortnight later, in Gateshead, she ran the fastest 10,000m in the world this year.

Since setting the marathon world record of 2hr 15min 25sec in London during April 2003, Radcliffe has been bedevilled by problems. She had to withdraw from her last two major events, missing last year's world championships in Paris because of a shin problem and the world cross-country championships in Brussels after suffering a hamstring strain.

Then there was the magnesium deficiency which contributed to her defeat in a road-relay in Japan last November, her first loss of any kind in 16 months, and her unexpected reverse over 10km in Puerto Rico last February, when struggling with swollen glands.

But Radcliffe bounced back last autumn with victories in the Great North Run and World Half Marathon Championships to show that, when on form and 100% fit, no woman can touch her.

Doubts, however, have been raised about whether her body will be able to handle the demands of training for the marathon, let alone face the 26.2-mile test from Marathon to Athens in the middle of a Greek summer.

Sian Masterton, her agent, did not deny that Radcliffe had visited Germany. "She went to Munich a month ago for a check-up on her hernia injury," she said. "I have spoken to her several times. She definitely doesn't have a calf injury."

Max Jones, the performance director of UK Athletics, also denied she had a calf injury. "She's a regular visitor to Müller Wohlfahrt," he said.

Philip Pope, the spokesman for the British Olympic Association, said that Radcliffe was "fit and raring to go" according to agency reports he had read. But he admitted he had not spoken personally to her.

Britain badly needs Radcliffe to deliver the Olympic gold if the team are to stand any chance of repeating the achievements of Sydney. She narrowly missed out on a medal in the 10,000m four years ago, when she was out sprinted by a trio of Ethiopians led by Derartu Tulu.

This time she will have to deal not only with the intense heat of Athens but more-than-useful opponents including the likes of the Kenyan Catherine Ndereba.

"Everything has gone really well in training, and my preparations - particularly the quality work - has gone very successfully," the Briton reportedly said yesterday. "Now it is just a case of doing some easy running and light strides."

The athlete and her support team arrived on Sunday night and stayed on the outskirts of Marathon, where the gruelling race will begin. "We needed to get acquainted with the course, where there have been a couple of changes," she said.

Radcliffe then joined her Team GB colleagues at the Olympic village, where her presence will be a massive influence, particularly on first-time Olympians. She has an awesome work ethic and not the least of her achievements has been to prove that not only Africans possess the necessary physical toughness to win major long-distance races.