Day 1’s main event was the incredible performance delivered by Paula Radcliffe of Britain in the Women’s 10000m, where she set a new European Record.
Leading from the offset, Paula Radcliffe set a punishing pace in pulsating rain at the Munich Olympic Staduim.
Her intentions were made clear from the start, when she laid down the ‘gauntlet’ with 2 successive sub 3min km’s in the first 2Km. Sonia O`Sullivan, Ireland’s darling, and 
Fernando Ribeiro attempted to follow the pace, but by 2K in 5:57, she had already established a 3m gap. With arms pumping like pistons and the head ‘bobbing’ with the tempo, there was no way back for the rest of the field.
By 3000m, the event was over as a contest, the only competition Radcliffe had was the clock and this was no disrespect to the rest of the field. The British athlete was demonstrating a brutal display of frontrunning few have had the privilege of witnessing.
From laps 12 to 19, the Brit faltered from the pace needed to record her goal of a sub 30min 10K. After passing through 9K in 27:03, a 2:57.54 last gasp km could not help her break the barrier and she finished in 30:01.09. This time was 2nd fastest ever recorded, by a women, over the distance and it eclipsed the ‘great’ Norwegian Ingrid Kristiansen’s 16yr old European Record [ER] of 30:13.74.
O`Sullivan was to finish 2nd in a new Irish record of 30:47.59, with Lydia Biktasheva of Russia taking 3rd with 31:04.00.
Results : Women’s 10000m Final
Paula Radcliffe
1 Paula Radcliffe (Gbr) 30:01.09 E R
2 S O’Sullivan(Irl) 30:47.59
3 L Biktasheva (Rus) 31:04.00
4 Mihaela Botezan (Rom)31:13.96
5 J Prokopcuka (Lat) 31:17.72
6 Olivera Jevtic (Yug) 31:47.82
7 C Tomescu-Dita (Rom) 31:53.61
8 Gunhild Haugen (Nor) 31:57.02
9 Sonja Stolic(Yug) 32:00.55
10 S Mockenhaupt (Ger) 32:08.52
11 G Aleksandrova (Rus)32:11.52
12 Maura Viceconte (Ita) 32:12.66
13 C Iakovou (Gre) 32:18.62
14 Aniko Kalovics (Hun) 32:22.61
15 Y Samokhvalova (Rus) 32:30.33
16 LuminitaTalpos (Rom) 32:30.48
17 Marie Davenport (Irl) 32:35.11
18 Fatima Yvelain(Fra) 32:40.40
19 Ana Dias (Por) 32:41.56
20 Liz Yelling (Gbr) 32:44.44
21 Bente Landoy (Nor) 32:47.47
22 I Juodeskiene (Ltu) 32:58.56
23 Monica Rosa(Por) 32:59.22
24 Gloria Marconi (Ita) 33:01.11
25 Luisa Larraga (Spa)33:14.05
26 Keenan Buckley (Irl) 33:19.94
27 Nili Avramski (Isr) 34:51.15
DNF: F Ribeiro (Por)
Natalya Berkut (Ukr)
Below are the Women’s 800m and Men’s 1500m heat results :
Women’s 800m Heat 1
Kelly Holmes
1 Kelly Holmes (Gbr) 2:03.18
2 L Formanova (Cze) 2:03.25
3 OlgaRaspopova (Rus) 2:03.73
4 E Grousselle (Fra) 2:04.07
5 Suvi Myllymaki (Fin)2:04.69
6 A Christofidou (Cyp) 2:05.82
7 Y Gurtovenko (Ukr) 2:08.04
Women’s 800m Heat 2
1 S Cherkasova (Rus) 2:02.40
2 Mayte Martinez (Spa) 2:02.59
3 B Langerholc (Slo) 2:03.14
4 Tanya Blake (Mlt) 2:03.22
5 V Fouquet (Fra)2:03.75
6 M Papadopoulou (Gre) 2:04.52
7 Petra Pticek (Cro) 2:05.15
Women’s 800m Heat 3
1 Nedia Semedo (Por) 2:02.80
2 Joanne Fenn (Gbr) 2:02.91
3 SandraStals (Bel) 2:03.13
4 I Teichmann (Ger) 2:03.23
5 Heidi Jensen (Den) 2:03.41
6 Adrienne Mcivor (Irl) 2:05.01
7 I Mistyukevich (Rus) 2:07.67
Women’s 800m Heat 4
1 Claudia Gesell (Ger) 2:01.69
2 Jolanda Ceplak (Slo) 2:01.98
3 T Kirilova (Bul) 2:02.29
4 Natalya Dedkova (Blr) 2:02.31
5 Aurelie Coulaud (Fra)2:03.16
6 Helena Fuchsova (Cze) 2:03.71
7 Rikke Ronholt (Den) 2:03.97
Men’s 1500m Heat 1
1 M Baala (Fra) 3mins 46.71secs
2 J Redolat (Spa) 3:46.94
3 M Koers(Ned) 3:47.16
4 A Whiteman (Gbr) 3:47.40
5 L Feiteira (Por) 3:47.66
6 I Geshko (Ukr) 3:47.76
7 P Stroubakos (Gre) 3:47.94
8 J Nolan (Irl) 3:48.48
9 F Haschke (Ger) 3:48.56
10 L Lazzari (Ita) 3:49.06
11 A Tomic (Slo) 3:50.19
Men’s 1500m Heat 2
1 R Estevez (Spa) 3:40.47
2 R Silva (Por) 3:40.84
3 F Chouki (Fra)3:41.36
4 C Obrist (Ita) 3:41.63
5 M East (Gbr) 3:41.82
6 J Mayock (Gbr)3:42.63
7 J Higuero (Spa) 3:42.82
8 L Perrrone (Ita) 3:43.02
9 P Phillip(Swi) 3:44.30
10 M Norling (Swe) 3:45.28
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