Radcliffe keeps focused

World champion Paula Radcliffe admits she is not thinking of running a marathon as she recovers from a back injury caused by childbirth.

The 33-year-old is more likely to race over 10,000m if she is to be part of the GB World Championships team in Osaka.

She said: "I'm not planning on picking a marathon at the moment - the World Championships are important but I don't see this as my last year at the event."

Radcliffe sees Osaka as a "stepping stone" to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, which is her main focus following the birth of daughter Isla, who is now 15 weeks old.

She is expected to rest for three weeks before fresh scans are taken to see whether a small stress fracture of the left sacrum - a bone at the base of the spine - has healed and she is not concerned that a failure to run the marathon in Osaka will affect her chances of competing in that discipline in China.

"Between here and Beijing I have to run a marathon because I have to have a qualifying time - that's it," Radcliffe said.

"It doesn't matter to me whether it's autumn or spring. I know I am welcome (in New York, where the marathon is held in November), and I've kind of left it at that, and that's the same with all the marathons.

"They all know it's up in the air. I'm not planning on picking a particular marathon at the moment, it's just a case of getting racing and really working backwards from Beijing itself.

"The World Championships are important but I don't see this by any means as my last year at a World Championships, there are more times after that.

"Osaka is more of a stepping stone, Beijing is the thing that is more important. But most importantly for me, I don't care where it is - I just want to get back racing."