'Extremely inspiring' - Paula Radcliffe pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and her 'phenomenal' support for sport

Paula Radcliffe has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and recognised the «phenomenal» support she gave to sport in Great Britain. Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement on Thursday, September 8 2022 that Her Majesty had passed away at the age of 96.

The Queen, who ruled for longer than any Monarch in British history, passed away at her residence in Balmoral, it was announced. Ad Radcliffe, a three-time London Marathon winner who is featuring in a special Eurosport programme, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to pay tribute to the Queen, shared some of her most cherished memories and thoughts about a woman she always saw as «extremely inspiring».

AthleticsLondon Marathon ballot to include non-binary gender option for the first time14/09/2022 AT 12:48 «Well, 2002 was already a phenomenal and amazing year for me in terms of athletic achievements, and to have that capped off by being awarded an MBE, by getting to take my parents, my husband, to Buckingham Palace to receive it from the Queen was extremely special,» said Radcliffe speaking as part of Eurosport's special commemorative show, which airs on Monday at 7pm. «I've always really, really admired the Queen, and I think it is very hard to put into words what she meant to all of us.

I mean, for my entire lifetime, she has been the Queen and she has been somebody who has shown that you can be a mother and a grandmother — and most of the country, most of the world, can identify with you — and yet, you can still be a very normal person; very strong, but still very feminine at the same time. »I guess she is one of the first people when you ask about female, iconic inspirations, who showed that you could be strong, you could be tough, you could be essentially running a