Paula Radcliffe: Family, Injury, Controversy & Net Worth
Women are the world’s largest untapped reserve of talent. One of the women who prove this sentence to be true is Paula Radcliffe.
Paula Radcliffe is a former British long-distance runner who has held a women’s world marathon record for the past sixteen years.
She has won the London marathon three times, the New York marathon three times, and the Chicago marathon one time. Moreover, Paula is also an author.
In addition, she knew she wanted to be a mother early on and never compromises when it comes to her children.
With her daughter being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and her father passing away in 2020, it has been very difficult for her.
But much like all of her challenges, she has overcome them and continues to strive even harder.
In this article, you will find everything that you need to know about Paula Radcliffe.
Quick Facts
Here are some quick facts about Paula Radcliffe.
| Full name | Paula Radcliffe |
| Date of birth | 17th of December, 1973 |
| Age | 50 Years Old |
| Birthplace | Norwich of Cheshire, Britain |
| Religion | Christian |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Not available |
| Education | Loughborough university |
| Father’s name | Peter Radcliffe |
| Mother’s name | Pat Radcliffe |
| Zodiac sign | Sagittarius |
| Height | 5 feet and 8 inches |
| Weight | 54 kg |
| Sibling | Martin Radcliffe |
| Nickname | Radcliffe |
| Body Measurement | Unknown |
| Hair color | Blonde |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Debut year | 1992 AD |
| Current Status | Retired |
| Profession | Long-distance runner |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Gary Lough |
| Children | One daughter and one son |
| Salary | Not Available |
| Achievements | Olympic finals: 1996 5000 m, 5th 2000 10,000 m, 4th World finals: |
| Social Media | Twitter, Instagram |
| Net Worth | $6 Million |
| Merch | Paula: My Story So Far, How to Run: From Fun Runs to Marathons and Everything in Between |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Paula Radcliffe: Early Life
Paula Radcliffe was born on the 17th of December 1973. She was born in Davenham near Norwich of Cheshire, Britain, but she was raised all over Britain.
Her father’s name is Peter Radcliffe, and her mother’s name is Pat Radcliffe.
Peter Radcliffe was club vice-chairman, and Pat Radcliffe was a cross-country team manager.
Paula has a younger brother. Her brother is named Martin Radcliffe, two years younger than her. Since siblings were so close in age, they had a really good bond growing up.
When Paula was seven years old, she suffered from anemia and asthma, but she still was interested in running.
Her father was an amateur marathon runner back in the days, and this inspired her.
So despite her medical condition, she joined Frodsham Athletic Club when her family resides in Branton. But later, they moved to Kingsley.
Then at the age of twelve, her family moved to Oakley, Bedfordshire, where she joined the Bedford and County Athletics Club.
And luckily for her, the same year, the club was joined by Alex Stanton, who was dedicated to making the women’s and girls section the strongest in the country.
Her first race was in 1986 when she took part in the English Schools Cross Country race, where she was 299th out of 600 participants.
But she improved so much in just one year and landed the fourth position in the same race.
Education
In her childhood, she attended the Little Leigh Primary School. However, since her family moved around a lot, she had to change schools often.
After that, she graduated from the Shambrook Upper School and Community college.
Then she went on to study at the Loughborough University, where she studied French, German, and economics.
The golfer graduated after four years with a first-class honors degree in modern European Studies.
Paula Radcliffe: Personal Life
Paula Radcliffe is a British citizen. She is Christian by faith.
Being born in December, Paula is a Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a fire sign and is known to be optimistic.
Sagittarius people have traits such as being free-spirited, generous, kind, cheerful, and carefree.
Paula perfectly showcases the freedom-loving side of Sagittarius.
Who is Paula Radcliffe’s Husband?
Paula is married to Gary Lough.
Gary Lough is a former British middle-distance runner, but he started working as the manager for his wife after a knee injury.
The couple met in the college. They met in autumn of 1992 in a pub in Loughborough when they were attending their first year at the university.
Paula and Gary instantly clicked, and they decided to go on a date. After that, the rest became history, and soon the couple became inseparable.
Five years into dating, Gary decided to get on his knees and pop the question. When Paula said yes, the couple was ecstatic.
But the couple had hardships where they broke up. But eventually, the couple found a way back to each other.
They finally got married in 2000 in a private ceremony.
They are happily married to this day. There are no rumors of cheating or conflict of any sort.
Children
And some years later, on 17th January of 2007, they welcomed their firstborn. It was a daughter, and they named her Isla.
And after their older one turned three, they were expecting another one. This time it was a baby boy, and they named him Raphael.
But panic set in after Raphael was delivered because the baby did not cry. The doctor brought in a resuscitation bag and inflated his lungs, and finally, Raphael started crying.
Paula said that she had a natural calling to be a mother; ever since then, she decided to settle down and would not trade anything in the world for her kids.
In 2020 her daughter was diagnosed with rare cancer with a tumor in her ovaries.
But luckily, after having multiple chemotherapy sessions, Isla was back on her feet.
This was a scary experience for Paula, who lost her father the same year. But she stayed strong throughout it all.
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Paula Radcliffe: Physical Appearance
When it comes to height, Paula is five feet and eight inches tall. She weighs around 54 kgs.
Her exact body measurement and shoe size have not been revealed.
She has blonde hair with blue eyes. She has a fair skin complexion.
Paula followed a simple and normal diet where she ate a lot of fish and finished her meals in 20 minutes during her marathon days.
Paula Radcliffe: Career
Radcliffe started her career journey in 1992 by participating in the IAAF World Cross Country Championship, where she took home the junior’s title. The next year she finished in seventh place.
And in 1996, she finished in the third position in the World Cross Country Championship in Durham.
Similarly, in 1998 Paula landed the silver medal at World Cross Country, and she also set the world’s best record for 5 miles.
But one of Radcliffe’s biggest victories came when she won the IAAF World Half Marathon Championship held in Mexico in 2000 and 2001.
She was also the winner of the Cross Country Championship in two consequent years, 2001 and 2002.
2002 was a great year for Paula as she was awarded the MBE and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The next year she set the record for the best time for women with 2:17:42 at the London Marathon.
Due to her pregnancy, she took a year off and made her comeback in the New York Marathon in 2007.
Then she participated in the London Marathon and Berlin Marathon for the next few years while taking off 19 months for the birth of her son.
In January of 2015, Paula announced that she would be retiring with her final run at the London Marathon 2015.
Paula Radcliffe: Controversy
Radcliffe is one of the biggest advocators against the use of performance-enhancing drugs in athletics.
In 2001 she was holding up protesting banners against the reinstatement of Russian athlete Olga Yegorova after she tested positive for EPO.
And ever since then, Paula always wears a red ribbon on her chest against the drug cheats in sports.
But she received heavy backlash when she refused to release her blood test reports after the 2015 London Marathon.
Then Jesse Norman said that she is one of the dopers, but Radcliffe denied all allegations.
After thorough testing in 2015, IAAF announced that the accusations were based upon incomplete data due to faulty equipment.
Since then, Paula has remained controversy-free.
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Paula Radcliffe: Injury
With already suffering from asthma, Paula still did not give up on her dreams. Over the course of her career, Paula faced many injuries.
In 1994 she had a foot injury that forced her to miss the World Cross Country Championship.
After that, in 2000, she suffered a knee injury that made her pull out of the European Cup.
Then in 2004, after ingesting anti-inflammatory drugs for her leg injury, she could not participate in the Athens Olympics. She also faced runner diarrhea in the 2005 London Marathon.
In 2008 she faced a fracture in her femur due to stress that caused her to drop out of the London Marathon.
The consecutive year she had a toe fracture, for which she took ten months to recover.
Lastly, in 2012, she did not take part in London Olympics because of a foot injury.
Paula Radcliffe: Net Worth
After spending more than a decade on track, Radcliffe has earned fame and fortune.
Paula Radcliffe has a net worth of $ 6 million.
Her exact income is unknown. But from her wealth, it is clear that the family lives a comfortable life in their home in Monte Carlo.
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Paula Radcliffe: Social Media
Paula is very active on social media platforms. She uses Twitter and Instagram.
Her Instagram account has over 39.3 thousand followers. At the same time, her Twitter handle has over 232.4 thousand followers.
Some of Paula’s Quotes
Never set limits, go after your dreams, don’t be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot – it’s good for you!
There’s always going to be somebody who takes a dislike to you and you can’t waste time worrying about it.
FAQs
Are Paula and Daniel Radcliffe related?
No, Paula is not related to Daniel Radcliffe.
Is Paula Radcliffe still running?
No, it has been seven years since Paula Radcliffe retired.
What happened to Paula Radcliffe?
Pula was pulled out of London 2012 Olympics due to a foot injury.
