Marileidy Paulino – From barefoot running to breaking ground
Marileidy Paulino ran the 400m in less than 49 seconds for the first time in her life at Weltklasse Zürich in 2022. The first Olympic and athletics world champion from the Dominican Republic returns to Letzigrund Stadium this week. Her plan for her race on 28 August is to claim a fourth diamond and tackle one of the oldest meeting records.
Born on 28 October 1996, Marileidy Paulina embarked on her journey running barefoot in the dirt roads of Don Gregorio, a small village in the Nizao municipality. In her family, there are five siblings, a mother, and a grandmother, but no father. They sometimes did not know how to put food on table every day. But Marileidy lived by her grandmother’s faith: Trust in god, place your fate in his hands. And there was a golden dream, unobtrusive at first, almost hidden in a shy, cautious girl.
In a girl with a desire to move. She loved running, jumping, and throwing – on a handball court. She was in fact about to be accepted into the country’s national team, when a PE teacher discovered her potential for athletics. Marileidy had beaten all the boys in a school competition, suggesting that she had a special talent that went beyond a mere joy of playing. The country’s Minister of Sports would agree later. When Marileidy finally put on her first spikes and started running, it felt like flying. And it was the beginning of the athletics journey of the “Gazelle of Nizao”.
A raw diamond, refined by the “Profe”
She was 19 years old and a sports student, when she decided to dedicate all her energy to athletics. At the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, she placed fourth both in the 100m (11.33) and the 200m (23.05), and she won bronze with the 4x100m relay team. Though finding her true calling relatively late, she became a professional athlete, one with the necessary attitude, discipline, and commitment.
She got up at 5.30 every morning, even on Christmas day, trained until eleven, had lunch, and went back to train some more. Marileidy Paulino was focused on fulfilling her dream. She wanted to participate in the Olympic Games and worked hard for her goal, harder than most others. To her, doing 42 200m runs on a bumpy track was just part of preparing the season. Her Cuban coach Yassen Pérez Gómez, a former guide for blind parasprinters who goes by “Profe” (teacher), formed a long sprint gem from a sprinting raw diamond. Determined to emulate her Dutch role mode Dafne Schippers in the 100m and 200m, she did not particularly like the 400m at first. But her competitive spirit helped her become the queen of the gruelling discipline.
Entering the world scene in seven-league boots
Marileidy Paulino made her global breakthrough in 2021, just after the coronavirus pandemic and a year, in which there were no competitions at all. At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, she stormed to the world scene in seven-league boots, taking silver in the 400m and with the 4x400m mixed relay team. Following in the footsteps of two-time Olympic champion Félix Sánchez (400m h) and silver medallist Luguelín Santos (400m), she treated her home country to its first Olympic individual medal won by a woman. And withing weeks, she went on to place second at Weltklasse Zürich.
In 2022, Paulino won another silver medal at the world championships and a first Diamond Trophy at the Wanda Diamond League Final in Zurich. Since then, the Dominican dominator has suffered just one defeat in the most prestigious global meeting series. In Budapest, she became the first female athletics star of her country to claim the world championship title in 2023. A historic moment, and a confirmation, that an Olympic dream may be truly golden.
A whirlwind in the Paris rain
In 2024, she travelled to Paris to turn her dream into reality. Neither rain nor tough opponents could contain the Caribbean whirlwind. In an Olympic record time of 48.17, the athlete who began her career running barefoot, swept across the wet track faster than all Olympic 400m runners before her. Marileidy Paulino lived her “Sueños Dorados”. The documentary about her journey was released in cinemas this year.
When the “Gazelle of Nizao” returned from the Olympic Games, eleven million people were waiting to welcome her home. There were celebrations for the new national hero both in the capital city Santo Domingo and in Paulino’s hometown of Nizao. However, all the fuzz made her uncomfortable. She remembered where it had all begun and the sacrifices that had been involved. And she knew that she had done it all with the help of her mother Anatalia, her grandmother, her “Profe”, and her steadfast faith.
Humble in the face of her latest mission
Despite winning medals, trophies, and personal triumph, Marileidy Paulino has always stayed true to herself. Humble, deeply religious, and kind-hearted, she bought a house for her mother and initiated a foundation that helps orphans and young athletes from a modest background. The 28-year-old Olympic and world champion, Pan American Games gold medallist, three-time Wanda Diamond League champion (2022, 2023, 2024), and former barefoot runner provides them with shoes, for instance. Even today, she writes the result she intends to achieve on her own spikes and expresses her gratitude to “Dios” before major races.
The fourth-fastest 400m runner in history acknowledges that her toughest opponent is always the clock. After breaking the Olympic record (48.17), she made it her mission to go for Marita Koch’s world record (47.60) from 1985 one day. In an “honest and clean” way, as she specifies. Jarmila Kratochvilová’s Weltklasse Zürich meeting record of 48.86, too, still stands after 43 years. Results and goals keep Marileidy going.
Hunting a fourth diamond
The three-time Wanda Diamond League champion is more motivated than ever when thinking about a fourth trophy. It would be the second at Letzigrund Stadium, the venue at which she had broken the 49-second barrier for the first time, clocking 48.99. The arena is also a venue in which legends are born and dreams become true; a venue that has a special place in Marileidy Paulino’s heart, not least because of the many Dominican fans.
The groundbreaking runner would like to make it clear that the end of her story is not yet in sight on Zurich’s “magic track”. The theme, and Marileidy’s message, is that people can achieve anything, no matter where they are from or what they have. She reminds them to try hard and believe in themselves. It is her message to the kids of Nizao, to all the girls still running barefoot in city streets, and to the entire world.
