PAULA Radcliffe was removed from the National Lottery funding programme because she was no longer seen as a realistic medal contender for future global championships.

But the marathon world record holder expected to have the support withdrawn and has no intention of retiring.

The 38-year-old headed a group of senior athletes who have been removed from the World Class Performance Programme for 2013, UK Athletics announced.

Radcliffe’s omission, the consequence of yet another summer of Olympic heartache as she missed the London 2012 Games with a foot injury, was not a surprise.

She has only raced one marathon since 2009.

UKA performance director Neil Black said: ‘‘I spoke with Paula over the weekend and she wasn’t surprised at all.

‘‘The selection panel talked it through in reasonable detail and didn’t feel it was possible to suggest that Paula was a genuine medal prospect for [the 2016 Olympics in] Rio.

‘‘She has undergone recent surgery and is in the middle of a rehabilitation period for a substantial problem, though a problem she can recover from, and therefore the possibility of performing in Moscow next year [at the World Championships] is uncertain.

‘‘Put that all together and it was the right decision not to maintain Paula on the programme.’’ UK Sport have narrowed the focus for funding for athletes across sports from those with top-eight potential to those who are medal contenders in the next Olympic cycle.

Radcliffe had been on podium funding, the highest level of Lottery support.

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu has kept his place on the podium list, despite his high-profile feud with UKA which dominated the buildup to the Olympics.

On the process of appointing a replacement for Van Commenee, who stepped down after the Olympics, Black said: ‘‘Really pleased and excited with the applicants that we’ve had. We’ll be interviewing over the next week or so and we hope to make an announcement within the next couple of weeks.’’ The other senior names who have seen their funding taken away include Radcliffe’s fellow marathon runner Mara Yamauchi, veteran sprinters Marlon Devonish and Mark Lewis-Francis, European 400m hurdles champion Rhys Williams, former European 800m silver medallist Michael Rimmer, former world 400m silver medallist Nicola Sanders and Commonwealth 1500m bronze medallist Steph Twell.