Paula Fudge

Paula Fudge (née Yeoman; born 30 March 1952) is an English former middle and long-distance runner. She won a gold medal in the 3000 metres at the 1978 Commonwealth Games, and on 13 September 1981 she set the world record for the 5000 metres with 15.14.51, the first recognised women's 5000m world record by the IAAF.[1] This record remained the British record until 1985 when it was broken by Zola Budd.[2] She also won a bronze medal in the 3000 metres at the 1982 European Indoor Championships.

Paula Fudge
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Great Britain
World 15km Road Race Championships
1985 GatesheadTeam
1987 Monte CarloTeam
European Indoor Championships
1982 Milan3000 m
Representing  England
World Cross Country Championships
1979 LimerickTeam
1982 RomeTeam
Commonwealth Games
1978 Edmonton3000 m

Fudge made her marathon debut at the 1985 Columbus Marathon, winning in a time of 2:35:10. She then won a team gold medal at the 1985 World 15km Road Race Championships, and finished fifth individually. She improved her marathon personal best to 2:32:25 at the 1986 London Marathon. After the withdrawals of her twin sister Ann Ford and Priscilla Welch due to injury, and Veronique Marot declining selection, Fudge was selected to compete in the marathon at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but she too turned the offer down.[3] A month after the Olympics, she ran her best-ever marathon time, when finishing third at the Chicago Marathon in 2:29:47.[4]

In 2003, Fudge broke the UK W50 record by running 79:39 at the Fleet Half Marathon. A record that stood until 2011. She became an athletics coach at her running club Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club[5][6]

International competitions
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
1978 Commonwealth Games Edmonton, Canada 1st 3000 m 9:12.95
European Championships Prague, Czechoslovakia 8th 3000 m 8:48.74
1979 World Cross Country Championships Limerick, Ireland 17th 5.0 km 17:58
1981 World Cross Country Championships Madrid, Spain 28th 4.4 km 15:02
1982 European Indoor Championships Milan, Italy 3rd 3000 m 8:56.96
World Cross Country Championships Rome, Italy 14th 4.7 km 15:03
1985 World Cross Country Championships Lisbon, Portugal 56th 5.0 km 16:22
Columbus Marathon Columbus, Ohio, United States 1st Marathon 2:35:10
World Road Race Championships Gateshead, United Kingdom 5th 15 km 50:36
1986 London Marathon London, England 5th Marathon 2.32.25
World Road Race Championships Lisbon, Portugal 20th 15 km 50:51
1987 Reading Half Marathon Reading, England 1st Half marathon 1:12:45[7]
London Marathon London, England 4th Marathon 2:32:28
Greifenseelauf Canton of Zürich, Switzerland 1st 19.5 km 1:09:35
World Championships Rome, Italy 17th Marathon 2:42:42
World Road Race Championships Monte Carlo, Monaco 8th 15 km 49:43
1988 Chicago Marathon Chicago, United States 3rd Marathon 2:29:47

References
  1. "Paula Fudge". British Athletics. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. "5000 Women Overall All Time". Power of 10. British Athletics. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  3. "Commonwealth Games: Gold medalist who turned down Olympics chance has no regrets". getwestlondon. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  4. "Paula Fudge". Power of 10. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. "Coaching Staff". Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow AC. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. "IAAf World Cross Country 1976 women". Athchamps. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  7. Stan Eldon. "Reading Half Marathon". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2013-03-04.


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