MUNICH, Germany -- Britain's Paula Radcliffe has run the second fastest women's 10,000 meters in history, smashing the European record for a dominating victory in the final of the European championships.

Nine days after winning her first major title on the track in the 5,000 at the Commonwealth Games, the 28-year-old outclassed the opposition again to clock a stunning 30 minutes 01.09 seconds on a rainy night in Munich.

Radcliffe, who led almost from the start, smashed the previous best mark of 30:13.74 set by Norway's Ingrid Kristiansen in July 1986 in Oslo.

Only Chinese Wang Junxia has ever ran faster than Radcliffe did Tuesday, when she set the world record of 29:31.78 in September 1993 in Beijing.

Defending champion Sonia O'Sullivan of Ireland came a distant second in 30:47.59 while Russian Lyudmila Bikatsheva took the bronze medal in 31:04.00.