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MW 9 September 2015

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21 Sport maltatoday, Wednesday, 9 september 2015 atHletHics Paula Radcliffe 'categorically denies' cheating Britain's marathon world record holder, Paula radcliffe, categorically denied cheating at any point in her career. radcliffe said she was "devas- tated " that she had been linked to doping allegations follow- ing a Parliamentary hearing on tuesday, which explored claims concerning blood data. the 41-year-old Briton said questions raised during a par- liamentary select committee "effectively implicated " her in the sunday times' allegations of blood doping in athletics. Jesse norman, MP suggested winners and medallists at the London Marathon and "poten- tially British athletes" were un- der suspicion. radcliffe was not specifically named, but she is a three-time London Marathon winner and the only British athlete since 1996 to triumph the event. Following the Commons Cul- ture, Media and sport Com- mittee hearing, she issued a statement saying she was "dev- astated " her name had been "linked to these wide-ranging accusations". the sunday times published data from 5,000 athletes, which it had reviewed by scientists and said revealed an "extraordinary extent of cheating". the international association of athletics Federations (iaaF) called the allegations "sensa- tionalist and confusing" and denied it had failed in its duty to carry out effective blood test- ing. radcliffe said she had the "greatest respect" for people "responsibly trying to uncover cheating", but added she was "profoundly disappointed that the cloak of parliamentary privilege" had been used to tar- nish her reputation, without re- course. she said: "i have campaigned long and hard throughout my career for a clean sport. i have publicly condemned cheats and those who aid them. these ac- cusations threaten to undermine all i have stood and competed for, as well as my hard-earned reputation. "By linking me to allegations of cheating, damage done to my name and reputation can never be fully repaired, no matter how untrue i know them to be." radcliffe, who also won the new York Marathon three times and the Chicago Marathon, re- tired from competitive athletics this year following a persistent foot injury. she said she "wrestled long and hard with a desire to speak out" following the initial publi- cation of the joint sunday times and arD/WDr investigation of 12,000 blood tests from 5,000 athletes between 2001 and 2012. she said she had wanted to "fully explain any f luctuations" in her blood data, but was ad- vised she would risk her name being connected with "false al- legations". "as a result of today's parlia- mentary hearing i can no longer maintain my silence," she add- ed. Bale's agent rules out Man United move football WeLsh star Gareth Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett says the star is "very happy at real Madrid" and has not come close to joining Manchester United. Barnett was speaking at the soccerex convention and told an audience that Bale, who joined Madrid in a world record €100 mil- lion move two years ago, wants to end his career at the Bernabeu. the agent described re- cent reports of United's in- terest as "stupid paper talk" as he revealed Bale's desire to remain in Madrid due to his love for life in spain. Bale has been the subject of repeated interest from Manchester United, who are said to still be optimis- tic of their chances of land- ing the Wales star at some point. the forward has been installed as a central play- maker in rafa Benitez's Madrid team though and is thought to be a favourite of president Florentino Perez. "he is very happy at real Madrid and hopefully he'll stay for the rest of his ca- reer. he's loving it there and things are going well for him," Bale's representa- tive said. Bale's €100 million trans- fer to real from tottenham remains the world record fee for a player and Bar- nett believes, everything considered, he will remain the most expensive player for some time. "You have (Cristiano) ronaldo, who is getting to the end of his career, and (Lionel) Messi as well," he added. "in spain they have clauses which come out and state how much you have to pay so at the mo- ment he is the most valu- able and it will be a while before someone breaks it." Barnett also had his say on the botched late move Madrid made for Man- chester United goalkeeper David de Gea. Despite having an inter- est in the spain interna- tional for several months an offer was not accepted until the last day of the window and due to some administrative hiccups the paperwork was not completed in time. that led to conspiracy theories suggesting real had done it on purpose in order to sign the goalkeep- er for free when his con- tract expires next summer but Barnett thinks there is a more obvious explana- tion. Paula Radcliffe – denied cheating in sports Gareth Bale, "very happy at Real Madrid"

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