I don't know if anyone watched the Paula Radcliffe profile on ITV4 the other night. It didn't tell us much new about Radcliffe, but I thought the interview with Lough was very interesting.
I've been an admirer of Radcliffe for about 20 years and the couple of times I have met her, she was utterly charming. Like most people I've always had a different impression of Lough. Super intense and difficult to forget his on track outburst immediately after Paula's 10,000m final at the 2001 World Championships.
What struck me was just how much more he seemed to struggle with the poor performances in Paula's career, notably Athens in 2004. He couldn't talk about it, started crying when asked. I know she has said what a support he has been, but surely that has got to be damaging. Although she won New York and became World Champion in the 12 months that followed, it could be argued that she never really got close again to her achievements of 2002/2003.
