The Dominican world champion at 400 m, Marileidy Paulino did it again, reaffirming her dominance of the event this year. She won the gold at the Diamond League event in Xiamen, China this past weekend. The Xiamen race is the next-to-last Diamond League event before the grand final in Eugene, Oregon.
Paulino had an unforgettable World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, claiming her first individual world title and clocking a national record of 48.76 in the process.
Paulino’s time in Xiamen, China at 49.36 was not spectacular but she beat the field quite handily. The Dominican 400m star has enjoyed a solid Diamond League season so far with victories in Doha and Paris. She is yet to secure qualification for the final, however, and currently sits in third behind Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek and the Netherlands’ Lieke Klaver.
The win in Xiamen put Paulino on the plane to Eugene to compete in the Diamond League finals on 17 September 2023.
The big elephant in the room is, obviously, Sydney McLaughlin, the former world 400 meter hurdles champion and this year’s fastest 400 m time. Her trainer Bobbie Kersee was priming her for a try at the 400 meter hurdles and the 400 m sprint at this years World Championships, but a knee injury has kept Mclaughlin off the track and out of competition. At the only match-up this year with McLaughlin, Paulino won, and the track world was yearning for a re-match.
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Listin Diario
Diamond League
SportsMax TV
4 September 2023