JAMES CRACKNELL yesterday became the first of Great Britain’s Olympic gold medal-winners to criticise Paula Radcliffe for not finishing the Athens marathon and 10,000 metres, saying that he was “uncomfortable with what she did”.

Most of Radcliffe’s fellow competitors have sympathised with her decision to pull out of the race when she was suffering from a stomach upset, which was probably caused by anti-inflammatory pills taken for a strained thigh.

However, speaking two days before he will be one of the stars in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year programme, Cracknell contrasted the lack of criticism of Radcliffe with the Australians’ attack on Sally Robbins, who stopped rowing in the women’s eight final.

Robbins was nicknamed “Lay-down Sally” by the Australian media and was cold-shouldered by some crew-mates.

Cracknell said: “Had Paula been tied to someone else’s leg in the marathon, she would not have stopped running. You don’t stop. The Australian eight were not going to win but you get sent to the Olympics to cross the finish line, not to start the race.”

In an interview published today in A Question of Sport magazine, published to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the BBC show, Cracknell was quoted as saying: “At 5.30 in the morning on the day of our race” (when Cracknell was a member of the victorious coxless four crew), “there were 100 Brits standing in the dark to watch us during our warm-up paddle.

“So many Brits lined the marathon route and gathered in the stadium specifically to clap Paula round. A lot of people cared about what happened to her and the other British athletes. It is important not to forget that. I went to watch her 10,000 metres. I was not overly impressed when she quit.

He added: “I am pleased she won in New York (the annual marathon held last last month). She is a fabulous athlete. But as an athlete I feel uncomfortable with what she did in Athens.”

Cracknell and Radcliffe, who both write columns for the same newspaper, will not be meeting on Sunday. The women’s world marathon record-holder will be on holiday abroad before beginning her build-up to the 2005 season, which is expected to include a marathon, probably in London or Boston, and also participation in the World Championships in Helsinki.

In her autobiography, Radcliffe said that the day after the marathon in Athens, she was “struggling to comprehend what happened and find a reason for it”. However, she said that she had been suffering from a haematoma on the underside of the muscle, which was sufficiently serious for her to believe that people around her were unsure whether she would actually compete in Athens. She added that it was an “extremely stressful” time and that she had been unable to sleep with worry at nights.

“I suffered an upset stomach from the high doses of antiinflammatories,” she said. “I also did get some dizzy spells but I put these down to stress.”

Radcliffe explained that during the race she began to develop stomach problems and her legs began to feel weak and eventually very sore. She believes that, because of the anti-inflammatories, the carbohydrates that she had consumed during the build-up to the race “did not get through and my fuel tank was very low before I began the race”.

She eventually had to “concede that there was no way I could push my body any further”. When she was overtaken in third place at about 23 miles, she stopped running and sat on the roadside in tears. Her collapse was watched on BBC television by 10.7 million people, the third highest of the Games. Five days later, she competed in the 10,000 metres, in which she won the European title in 2002, but again withdrew when she felt she was not doing herself justice. This event was watched by 12.8 million people, the highest UK television audience of the Games.

Cracknell, who is taking a year off from international rowing to tackle other physical activities, will be able to experience long-distance running himself when he takes part in the Flora London Marathon on April 17. He has set himself the target of beating three hours, despite having a hip injury.