Vice President Raquel Peña congratulated Marileidy Paulino for making second place in the Diamond League finals in Zurich, Switzerland with a 49.96. Paulino was the favorite to win the race. Her personal best time is the 49.20 she clocked when winning the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics on 6 August 2021.
Quanera Hayes of the USA made 49.88 to win the Zurich competition. Hayes had placed a disappointing seventh in the Tokyo Olympics.
Vice President Peña tweeted:
“We congratulate you on winning silver in the #DiamondLeague. With the stopwatch in 49.96 you give us a new victory in Switzerland. You continue to proudly raise our flag. You are an example of tenacity and our queen in the 400 m.”
Marileidy Paulino took advantage of her top form for the Tokyo Olympics, where she won silvers in the 400m and 4x400m mixed relay to win her first two races in the 400m category of the prestigious Diamond League series.
Nevertheless, she lost the final race to veteran US athlete Quanera Hayes of the USA, who had placed 7th in the Tokyo Olympics 400m race. Hayes grabbed the race with a 49.88, besting Paulino.
This was Paulino’s third race in the Diamond League. In the Lausanne race she had won with 50.40 and in Paris she had won the race with 50.12. Overall, Paulino won US$36,000 in cash prizes in the Diamond League races.
Paulino accumulated 23 points competing in three events. She was first in the 400m, her specialty, followed by Sada Williams (Barbados), Stephenie Ann McPherson (Jamaica) and Quanera Hayes (USA).
Paulino says she will now rest and her next major commitment is the 400m in the IAAF World Championships Oregon22 to take place in Eugene, Oregon in July 2022. There she will compete again against Quanera Hayes. Hayes’ win in Zurich gets her a direct slot in the 2022 world championship.
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10 September 2021