Paula Radcliffe denied that she was not committed to representing her country after she pulled out of the World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham on Sunday.

“It’s very important for me to be able to pull on a GB vest, but having developed tonsillitis over the weekend, I’m now on a course of antibiotics,” she said. “I’m devastated.”

Nevertheless, there was an air of crushing inevitability to the news. Radcliffe’s appearances have been few and far between because of a variety of injuries, illnesses and pregnancy. They have meant she has missed the past two World Championships and has been unfit at the past two Olympic Games, the only marathons she has entered and failed to win.

Some have questioned whether the lure of running for her country comes close to that of running for a $200,000 first prize (about £126,000), as will be the case when she competes in the New York City Marathon on November 1.