Paula puts world decision on hold

Paula Radcliffe will leave a decision on whether to run in next month's World Championships until the last moment after recovering from a bout of bronchitis.

The illness, three weeks after shaking off a leg injury, has further disrupted the preparations of Radcliffe, who is favourite to win her first world track title in Paris.

It could not have come at a worse time for the marathon world record holder, who withdrew early from the Norwich Union Super Grand Prix in London on 8 August because of her leg problem.

However, Radcliffe refused to panic about the situation even though it means that the British runner will have little time to prepare for the championships, which start in Paris on 23 August.

"I'm just getting on with it," said Radcliffe, who has asked not to be named in the first set of selections for the British team next Tuesday. "I have to be very realistic and not rush into any decisions. It is very much a case of taking each day at a time."

The 29-year-old Bedford runner has not raced since she won the Flora London Marathon in April for the second successive year, in world record time.