Radcliffe Drops Out of Marathon

Paula Radcliffe's dreams of gold were in tatters tonight as the Athens heat took its toll, forcing her to pull out of the women's marathon at the 36km mark.

Radcliffe suffered the agony of a fourth place finish over 10,000m in Sydney four years ago.

And the 30-year-old marathon world record holder could not banish those bitter memories as she toiled in vain to cope with the scorching conditions.

World record holder Radcliffe,30, who started favourite to win the gold medal on the punishing 42.195km course, could not respond when Japan's Mizuki Noguchi broke away at the 25km stage.

And 11km later she had to give up the fight, and was reduced to tears as her Olympic gold dreams ended in agony.

Japan's diminutive Mizuki Noguchi produced a courageous run from the front to win the race that was staged between Marathon - the village which gave the event its name - and the Panathinaiko marble amphitheatre in the centre of Athens where the modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896.

Noguchi, the world silver medallist, produced a killer surge just after the halfway mark to break clear and win in two hours, 26.20 minutes.

Silver went to world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, with bronze for Deena Kastor of the United States.