Radcliffe's spider bite nightmare

Paula Radcliffe has revealed a spider bite almost put an end to her Olympic dream.

The marathon world record-holder was bitten while undergoing rehabilitation in France for a stress fracture in her left thigh.

"I was bitten by a spider three weeks ago and ended up being rushed into emergency. I couldn't walk on my foot for two days," she said.

"It was the same leg, it was the toxins, and I had a really, really bad fever that night.

"At first I thought I had sunstroke but I woke up in the night and couldn't stand on my foot at all and by the morning the foot was like a red balloon and there was a red line all the way up the inside of my leg."

It was the latest in a number of injury setbacks since she was forced to quit during the women's marathon at Athens 2004 due to illness brought on by anti-inflammatories she was taking for a leg problem.

The 34-year-old, who is now at the Team GB training camp in Macau, is in bullish spirits about her chances of competing, despite the stress fracture which she suffered in May, and said that nothing will prevent her from being on the start line in Beijing on August 17.

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