Athletics: 'Top quality' field draws Radcliffe to New York

Paula Radcliffe yesterday confirmed two important developments – that her first marathon since winning the 2005 world title will be New York on 4 November, and that she plans to produce a sibling for her eight-month old daughter Isla between the Beijing Olympics and the 2012 Games.

"I wanted to come back in a top quality marathon, and the New York field is stacked," she said. "Between now and the Beijing Olympics what I want to do is try and get into competitive races and win them."

She added that she wanted another baby sooner rather than later. "It certainly won't be before Beijing, but we don't want to have a child who is seven or eight years younger than Isla," she said.