Paula Radcliffe returned to the track after a two-year absence by running the third-fastest women's 5000 metres ever this afternoon and breaking her own British record.
The 29-year-old led from start to finish, running much of the race on her own. She was up with world record pace for the first half but slowed in the latter stages, finishing outside the world record of 14:24.68 set by Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse earlier this month.
"I'm a bit annoyed because I slowed down at the end,"
Radcliffe , the world marathon record holder, clocked 14 minutes 29.11 seconds at a European Cup meeting in Bydgoszcz, Poland. said Radcliffe . "I'm pleased I won the race...but I got a bit carried away, I went a bit too fast early on."
Radcliffe
"It's a nice confidence boost but I'm not reading too much into it. The main thing is to keep an eye on the big picture which is Athens. All of these races are just stepping stones to there."
, whose last track appearance was at the European championships in Munich in 2002, said she was back in great shape but would not get carried away by her victory.