Radcliffe breaks world best at Chicago Marathon

<br>CHICAGO (AP) _ Britain's Paula Radcliffe set a world best in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 18 seconds. <br><br>The 28-year-old Radcliffe, running in just her

Sunday, October 13th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CHICAGO (AP) _ Britain's Paula Radcliffe set a world best in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, finishing in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 18 seconds.

The 28-year-old Radcliffe, running in just her second marathon, broke the previous mark of 2:18:47, set last year by Catherine Ndereba in the same event.

American Khalid Khannouchi won the men's race in 2:05:56 _ his fourth title in Chicago. He missed the world best he set last April by 18 seconds.

Running into a stiff wind over the last few miles, Radcliffe finished strong while other runners faded. Ndereba, who won the race the last two years, finished second in 2:19:29.

Radcliffe, her head bobbing up and down as she ran, broke away from Ndereba in the 17th mile and seemingly got stronger as the race went on.

Yoko Shibui of Japan finished third in 2:21:22 _ more than two minutes behind Radcliffe.

In the men's race, Daniel Njenga finished second in 2:06:16. Japan's Toshinari Takaoka finished third, in an identical time.

Takaoka was orginally anounced as the second-place finisher, but race officials later ruled he was edged out by Njenga.

Takaoka made a surprise move with about five miles to go and led by as many as 20 seconds before being caught by Khannouchi in the 24th mile.

Radcliffe waved to the crowd after crossing the finish line, appearing more energized than drained.

``I was trying to hold on in the first half of the race and push on in the second,'' she said. ``I was kicking hard at the end. I felt strong the last mile.''

Radcliffe, Shibui and Ndereba all pulled away from the pack from the start and ran together for much of the first half.

Shibui faded quickly after that, and fell off the pace at approximately the 14-mile mark, but hung on for third.

Khannouchi, born in Morocco, fell to his knees after crossing the finish line, then rolled onto his side and wept. He set a course mark in his Chicago debut in 1997.

``This is a magical place to run. That's why I love Chicago. It's just awesome,'' he said. ``The conditions weren't too good and the wind was blowing hard and I just wanted to make sure I won.''

A pack of eight of the top runners, including Khannouchi, passed the midway point at 1:02:25 _ on pace to eclipse the world best Khannouchi set in London in April. But the weather didn't cooperate.

The conditions, though better than expected, were a factor over the last few miles. Temperatures were in the upper 30s, but runners had to finish against a strong wind.

``The conditions weren't good. We could have run for a world record but it was really windy and cold,'' Khannouchi said.