Paula Radcliffe, the winner of New York Marathon in 2008 was unable to defend her title at the 2009 New York Marathon as she finished 4th. Radcliffe, was quite optimistic about her chances of winning in an interview she gave a few days before the event.

World record holder, Radcliffe, 35 clutched her left let as she hobbled past the finish line in pain.

Britain’s world record holder finished fourth and clutched the back of her left leg in pain as she came home.The race race was won by two-time Olympic 10,000m champion Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia, who was just able to keep  Russia’s Ludmila Petrova at the last half mile to the end of the race.

Paula Radcliffe was supposed to run in the Birmingham half marathon as a sort of warm up preparation for the New York Marathon, she pull out at the last minute due to tonsillitis.  In an interview she gave after r Sunday’s race, she revealed tendinitis behind her knee had started to take its toll before the halfway stage.

“I knew I was fit coming in, it felt great, then at 11 miles it just went,” Radcliffe said.

“For the last miles I was just thinking ‘just hang in there’ as long as I could. Just try to stay with them.”

Radcliffe said she had had a cortisone injection last week to help ease the problem.