‘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.

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”.

“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 man’s world, as a woman, without having to change and not having to behave in any way differently than she probably would have done without being the Queen. She would probably have been a lot more private and would have had more freedom. But it was like she assumed that role and never complained, just got on with it, and at the same time, seemed to have fun with it.

“I guess that was the overriding emotion that I came over with. She was somebody who seemed to know who everybody was and treat everybody as though they were the most important person when she was talking to them – and that must have happened to her so much. She genuinely seemed interested in the answers to the questions that she asked, and I think it was that empathy and that dignity and that strength that made her such an icon to so many of us.

“I was very nervous to receive the MBE, and then she was lovely. She didn’t say very much on that occasion because she didn’t have time to. She was getting through so many.

“Then when I went to meet them later, she and Prince Philip were extremely genuine, and just kind of chatting about normal things. But she also asked me about when I was running the London Marathon, did it bother me because it concerned her that the elite motorbike had been too close while I was running?

“I think that concern, that is kind of not something that you would expect from Her Majesty the Queen of England, you would kind of expect it from my mum or my grandma. It was just touching that she had taken the time to watch it and to know who I was, and also to actually have something like that, that she thought about asking as a question. She asked about the memories, of course, of running the London Marathon and how special that was.

“During the London Marathon when you are right there and Buckingham Palace is right in front of you, I think it was extremely emotional. I genuinely think it’s something that we took for granted, and for that reason, I think that going back to the London Marathon in a couple of weeks now will be extremely emotional because that turn is emotional anyway, when you turn in front of Buckingham Palace.

“It is a moment when you know you are going to finish and you are going to achieve your goals and your dreams. Particularly when you’re winning it, when I was setting the world record, to see Buckingham Palace was extremely emotional because I really wanted to bring it home to Great Britain. To be able to do it then, and to do it in front of the Palace, I think it was a huge, huge part of the London Marathon that the Queen was, in a sense, watching over it.

“I do think it will be an emotion that will hit people and take people by surprise in the London Marathon this year, and I know there will be something done to honour the Queen, to honour her memory and to honour the way that she and the rest of the Royal Family have supported sport in such a great way and the London Marathon and athletics in such a great way. I think the fact that the Queen supported sport in such a phenomenal way is extremely inspiring.”