Paula Radcliffe rubbishes UK Athletics proposal to 'reset' world records

Paula Radcliffe has rubbished UK Athletics' proposal to expunge all world records from history. The long-distance runner – who has held the marathon world record since 2003 – has criticised the ideas included in the governing body's 'A Manifesto for Clean Athletics'.

The report calls for life bans for drugs cheats in some cases and for the resetting of world records. Radcliffe, 42, has warned that the recommendations would only serve to punish innocent athletes, like herself.

"Without doubt you are going to punish innocent athletes and why are you going to do it again when they have already had to compete against cheats during their career? I feel that innocent athletes have suffered enough at the hands of drugs cheats," she said, according to The Guardian.

Despite being a vocal opponent of drug cheats, Radcliffe insisted she would never agree with the idea of resetting world records. "I'll never agree with the records being wiped because I know 100% that at least one of those records was achieved clean, and that means more were too," she said.

Instead, Radcliffe recommended wiping the records of all confirmed drug cheats. "One of my suggestions to UK Athletics was that if sufficient evidence comes to light about any athlete doping at any point, then all of their marks retrospectively get wiped for their entire career," she said.

"It means, for example, that with Linford Christie all his marks would be gone because he failed a test in 1999. And OK, you are not saying they were cheating at that point, but the decision to dope means you forego and sacrifice everything you achieved before that. I think that is a strong deterrent."

Radcliffe also disputed the suggestion Russian long-distance runner Liliya Shobukhova and her agent Andrey Baranov are heroes after they exposed corruption within the IAAF and Russian athletics. Shobukhova, 38, previously alleged she paid officials more than $600,000 (£411,000) in order to avoid a doping suspension.

Shobukhova had her doping ban reduced after agreeing to provide information to the IAAF ethics commission that exposed senior officials, four of whom were given bans on 7 January.

Radcliffe said: "She's not a heroic whistleblower. It makes me angry. She didn't do the right thing. She should have been banned for life, not rewarded by the World Anti-Doping Agency with a reduction in her ban. And her agent Andrey Baranov should be out for life too, having had 28 athletes that he manages banned. He should not allowed to be anywhere near the sport."