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<\/p>\nLondon Marathon legend Paula Radcliffe has previously opened up on her reasons for leaving the UK<\/p>\n
Paula Radcliffe opened up on her decision to leave the UK(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n
London Marathon hero Paula Radcliffe was forced to quit her home in the UK<\/a> after she felt she had “let the country down”. The gruelling London Marathon<\/a> was synonymous with Radcliffe for decades.<\/p>\n The 52-year-old long-distance runner was previously the fastest female marathon runner of all time<\/a>. The Cheshire-born star held the women’s world marathon record for 16 years with an incredible time of 2:15:25, but last ran the London event in 2015.<\/p>\n Sunday, April 26, will see the 2026 London Marathon<\/a> hit the streets of the capital once again, with the achievements of Radcliffe no doubt still fresh in the minds of those competing. However, despite her success on the long-distance circuit, Radcliffe never won an Olympic gold medal, a fact that led her to leave the UK for Monte Carlo.<\/p>\n JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Follow Wales Online\u2019s Swansea City FB page for more news and analysis<\/a><\/p>\n Radcliffe represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games in four consecutive Games from 1996 to 2008. In 2004, in Athens, she suffered the biggest disappointment of her career.<\/p>\n The iconic runner had been the hot favourite to win gold in the marathon in the Greek capital, but was forced to withdraw from the race just four miles from the finish line due to a leg injury, which she had picked up two weeks prior.<\/p>\n A high dosage of anti-inflammatory drugs she had been taking had also upset her stomach and caused her to drop out at the 22-mile mark.<\/p>\n Paula Radcliffe is a legend on the marathon circuit(Image: PA)<\/p>\n The then-30-year-old had a chance to bounce back in the 10,000 metres event just five days later, but was also forced to pull out of that race with eight laps remaining.<\/p>\n Radcliffe admitted she felt “numb” and like she had “let the country down” in the wake of her Olympic heartache. After the Games finished, she moved to Monte Carlo, where she has lived with her husband, Gary and two children, Isla and Raphael, ever since.<\/p>\n In an interview with the Telegraph, Radcliffe claimed she had made the move “for a variety of reasons” but admitted it was partly down to her “distressing” Olympic experience.<\/p>\n “I was attracted to the better weather<\/a>,” she said. “I do altitude training in the Pyrenees, which is easy to reach from here, and I also wanted to bring my kids up to be bilingual, which I think is a big advantage in the modern world.<\/p>\n “Also, I found it too distressing to stay in England after what happened in Athens \u2013 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.<\/p>\n Radcliffe suffered double disappointment at the 2004 Olympic Games(Image: 2004 Getty Images)<\/p>\n “In Monaco we rent. But we kept our four-bedroom house in Loughborough and let it. 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.”<\/p>\n Radcliffe is a three-time winner of both the London and New York Marathons. As well as being a world champion in the marathon, half-marathon and cross country, she also won European and Commonwealth titles in the 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres, respectively.<\/p>\n![\"Paula](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2_ATHLETICS_Radcliffe_13282534.jpg\")
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