ATHLETICS/London Marathon Aftermath: Paula Radcliffe will visit a specialist this week to determine whether she needs an operation on the right knee which nearly prevented her winning the London Marathon.

The new European record holder revealed after her stunning run on Sunday that she came close to withdrawing before the race because of a problem which had flared up on the eve of her victory at the World Cross Country championships in Dublin on March 23th.

"There were times when I thought I wouldn't be able to run," she said. "I felt nothing from the right knee during the marathon; it's the other knee which is sore.

"But Gerard Hartmann (her physiotherapist) has warned me I should have it looked at. It may be okay now only because I've been receiving three hours' treatment per day on it. I hope it's just a precaution."

Radcliffe's knee first flared up two years ago during her preparations for the Sydney Olympics when she needed a minor operation after she hurt it kneeling down to write thank-you letters after her wedding.

She and her husband, Gary Lough, celebrated their second anniversary yesterday with a champagne breakfast.

Provided Radcliffe receives the all-clear from the specialist, she will take two weeks off before beginning to train for the Commonwealth Games and European Championships; she hopes to run the 5,000 metres in Manchester and 10,000 in Munich.

"The European is the more important to me because it's a stage above the Commonwealth Games," she said.

The 28-year-old Loughborough graduate is uncertain where she will run her next marathon, but it will probably be in London a year hence, on April 13th.

After her performance on Sunday, when she ran two hours 18 minutes and 56 seconds - the second fastest in history and the quickest in an event where women are not paced by men - she can almost ask for a blank cheque to return in 2003.

Motivating Radcliffe just as much as is the 16-year-old European 10,000-metre record of 30.13.74 held by Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen. "It's always been a big goal for me," she said.

Guardian Service