Radcliffe sends out warning

Paula Radcliffe sent out a warning to her rivals as she returned to the track after an absence of almost two years to run the third-fastest 5,000metres in history at the Spar European Cup in Poland.

In her first appearance since a hernia operation in March, Radcliffe ran a personal best of 14min 29.11sec.

But while Radcliffe took a significant step towards Athens, her victory was overshadowed by the knee injury to triple jumper Ashia Hansen that will rule her out of the Olympics.

Hansen, one of Britain's medal hopes this summer, ruptured tendons in her knee during the competition. The 32-year-old will undergo surgery but is expected to be out of action until next year.

The women's team were relegated from the top tier after finishing last. The men took fourth place but could have finished higher had Mark Lewis-Francis not been disqualified for a false start in the 100m. Then Chris Rawlinson fell as he took the baton in the 4x400m relay and the quartet trailed home in fifth behind overall winners, Germany.