PAULA Radcliffe's reserve Hayley Haining admits she is thinking "long and hard" about not travelling to the Olympics next month.
Haining is on standby to run if Radcliffe fails to overcome a stress fracture in time to compete in the marathon.
However, with UK Athletics planning to give Radcliffe until the day before the race to prove her fitness, the Dumfries runner may nee
d to take a long time off work for a wasted journey.
Haining said: "I will probably have to think long and hard before going out and that might be a situation that will arise. Work have been supportive and understanding about the whole thing. It is a case of time will tell.
"I cannot say either way. I will be speaking to my coach and Alan Storey (UK Athletics' performance manager] and, if it came down to that, I would have to make an informed decision."
Haining hopes Radcliffe's fitness will become evident long before the event in Beijing on 17 August to prevent an agonising decision.
"If Paula is confident of getting there (being fit], I would not need to go," she said. "She is a unique athlete and, when you look at everything she has done, and she has had a lot of injuries in the past, I guess she has a lot of experience to get things together under pressure."
The Scot added she "would live with it" if her decision proved to be the wrong one.
Meanwhile, world 100 metres record holder Usain Bolt has promised "something very special" when he competes over his preferred 200m distance at the Aviva London Grand Prix on 25-26 July. Last month he completed a double at Jamaica's national championships to secure his place at the Olympics, beating rival Asafa Powell in the 100m on Saturday before winning the 200m a day later.
Bolt will join Powell at the London meeting in what is likely to be their last outings before Beijing.
Among the British athletes confirmed at the meeting are Kelly Sotherton, Phillips Idowu, Nicola Sanders and Christine Ohuruogu.
The full article contains 350 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
