“I think for any athlete the Olympics is the pinnacle—it’s that little bit more special. Winning a gold at the Olympics is that much better than winning a gold at the World Championships, which I have. I think for me also, having been to three Olympics, where I feel I’ve never been able to achieve my maximum potential, there is an added fire and momentum and, yes, added pressure to perform in Beijing. I also feel that having been through what I have been through in previous Olympics, I’ve already experienced the worst that can happen and I’ve come through and survived, so for me the pressure is less."
“I actually feel that that experience will make me stronger in Beijing. I think you can go into it with a little bit too much pressure on your shoulders. I think my previous experiences will help me treat it like another marathon. What I need to do is go there 100% healthy, 100% fit and then just give it the best shot on the day. “It will be warm in Bejing, it will be humid—which I think will be a bigger factor, but in the past I have always raced well in hot and humid conditions. Obviously, times will be slower but it will be tougher for everybody, but in some ways that will be better for me because a tougher race means the tougher racers will come to the top."
“There will be strong opposition from the Chinese in their own country, from the Japanese who have a great record at Olympic games, from the Kenyan girls and Ethiopian girls. You can’t go in looking at one single person, but at a group of people from where the danger might come, but also be prepared for someone who comes in really good shape who you might not be expecting and be ready to handle that too,” said Radcliffe.
Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses, a two-time Olympic champion at 400 metres hurdles, said:
"Paula is renowned as a great fighter. She is a runner I admire enormously for her determination and her commitment. When someone is out of running for two years when they are in their thirties, you do wonder if they are going to be able to come back as fit and as strong, but Paula certainly showed she was when she won in New York. I wish her all the best for the Beijing Olympics."
The other nominees for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award were British 400 metres runner Christine Ohuruogu, Australian 400 metres hurdler Jana Rawlinson, US golfer Steve Stricker, England rugby player Jonny Wilkinson, and the Gt.Britain Rugby League Team.
The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury—the 45 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, a collection of the world's greatest sportsmen and women. The living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today.
The 2008 Awards were presented in seven categories.
The winners were:
* Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Roger Federer
* Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Justine Henin
* Laureus World Team of the Year: South African Rugby Team
* Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Lewis Hamilton
* Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Paula Radcliffe
* Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Esther Vergeer
* Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Shaun White
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