LONDON, May 13 (AFP) - Marathon star Paula Radcliffeis to run the 10,000 metres at the British Grand Prix onJune 27 in what will be her first track race sincebecoming European champion at the distance in 2002.
Radcliffe will use the meeting at Gateshead to chasethe Olympic qualifying time of 31 minutes 45 seconds andhas not ruled out contesting the event in Athens,despite favouring the marathon.
The golden girl of British athletics will also bemaking her first appearance in a British stadium sincewinning the Commonwealth Games 5,000m gold medal inManchester two years ago.
It's been a long time since I raced on the track inthe UK and I have really missed it,'' said Radcliffe.Gateshead will be a good test and an importantstepping stone for the Olympics.’’
The Gateshead meeting will also be the first race forRadcliffe since recovering from a leg operation in lateMarch and subsequent keyhole surgery on a herniaproblem.
Her last appearance came when finishing second in a 10kilometres road race in Puerto Rico on February 29 whileunaware of her injury problems, which subsequently ruledher out of the London marathon.
In last year’s race she produced one of the best everperformances by a woman athlete to win in a world recordtime of two hours 15 minutes 25 seconds.