Marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe says she wants an apology from journalists who falsely accused her of cheating.
In September last year, doping experts employed by The Sunday Times claimed a database of 12,000 tests from 5,000 athletes showed “the extraordinary extent of cheating” in endurance events with a third of major medals between 2001 and 2012 won by athletes who had recorded suspicious tests.
Radcliffe, 42, was among those named but was exonerated by the International Association of Athletics Federations in November and effectively cleared of all doping allegations earlier this month when a World Anti-Doping Agency’s commission ruled athletes could not be accused of cheating based on a database of blood tests leaked last year.
Radcliffe, who is in the UAE to commentate on this weekend’s Stanard Chartered Dubai Marathon, said she felt vindicated by WADA’s decision, although she believes her reputation has suffered “irreparable damage”.
“There are cheaters out there but throwing accusations out there and not taking them back, it hurts, and there were mistakes and journalists have a responsibility to write the truth,” said Radcliffe.
“When you don’t do that I think you let down the rest of the journalists and the reputation of journalism and I think at the very least then you can make an apology.
“I would like to see some kind of accountability taken by the journalists at the Sunday Times and by the scientists for having offered that opinion without the right understanding of the data.
“I do (feel vindicated, but) I still feel that there’s been damage done to my reputation that’s irreparable and I would like to see an apology.
“They’ve said they want to lay down a truce and move forward but I think that they need to apologise to be able to fully do that.”
Radcliffe, who’s world marathon record of 2:15:25 set at the 2003 London Marathon still stands, said 2015 had been a difficult year.
“Obviously it’s been a tough year really,” she said.
“There’s been a lot of stress on me and my family because when someone makes an accusation against you that you know isn’t true but then you have to wait for different bodies and different federations to be able to back you up and being able to prove that, then that makes it tough.
“When you know you haven’t done anything wrong it helps you to stay strong through all of that, even though at the same time it hurts, it hurts to be attacked personally in that way, especially on something that I feel so, so strongly against.
“That probably made it hurt that much more.”
