BRAVE Liz Yelling remained in good spirits despite the only eventuality she hadn't planned for - back luck - ruining her Olympic marathon dream.

The Parkstone-based athlete had enjoyed a perfect preparation for the gruelling event and was hopeful of making a big improvement on her 25th-place finish in the 2004 Athens Games.

But having led the field through the opening miles of Sunday's race, Yelling was tripped from behind and trampled by a number of fellow competitors.

The 33-year-old regained her footing and worked her way back into the leading pack, but she sustained a suspected rib fracture in the fall, an injury which continued to hamper her progress throughout the race.

Speaking to the Daily Echo from Beijing yesterday, Yelling explained Sunday's events.

She said: "All my training had gone perfectly and I was relaxed and really looking forward to it.

"It was such a big group because we didn't go off particularly fast, so I decided to go to the front because I've got such a long stride and tend to get clipped a lot. I did that for safety and sat there and felt really good and really comfortable.

"About nine miles into the race, I decided to tuck in and got back into the middle of the pack. Someone took me out from behind, I hit the tarmac and people were jumping all over me.

"I did roll and got up quite quickly and got back to the front group, but after two miles the pain started kicking in.

"My ribs were killing me and the fact I couldn't really breathe without it hurting restricted my breathing for the remaining 16 miles.

"I was forced to run within myself in the second half of the race, which was extremely frustrating, but there was nothing I could do.

"I kept trying to run quicker but had to back off again."

Yelling eventually finished 26th, but firmly believes a top-15 spot was possible.

"I'm disappointed but have to live with what happened," she said.

"I had trouble breathing and they sent me for an x-ray and said nothing was cracked. But it doesn't always show up.

"Laughing, breathing and crying hurts, so I've been quite delicate since the race and have been dosed up on paracetemol.

"With the marathon you're putting a lot of eggs in one basket and the Olympics is only every four years.

"I'd prepared meticulously for it in the past six months from qualifying in London to training in Florida. I sorted out stomach issues, nutrition and I tried to tick every box.

"On the day of the race I felt amazing but because of something out of my control it went a bit Pete Tong in the second half.

"Sport can be cruel but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Although I'm massively disappointed, I have to accept it."

Yelling wasn't the only British athlete to see her chances thwarted by injury, with Paula Radcliffe again suffering heartache.

The pair, who grew up as training partners, shared an emotional embrace on the track after the world record holder, recovering from a stress fracture, came home just three places ahead of Yelling.

"I know Paula so well and know what it means to her," said Yelling.

"My tears were for her and for me. I was gutted for Paula and hope she can pick herself up and bounce back - she's still the world record holder."

As for Yelling, she is unsure what the future holds and will sit down with husband Martin to discuss her next move.

"I'm just going to use the next two weeks to sit down and reflect and see where I'm going to fit having a family into my life, possibly before 2012, if I want that to be part of my plans," she added.