Many believe the 400-meter world record of 47.60 seconds, set by Marita Koch in 1985, is unbeatable. The record is controversial, given the long shadow of systematic doping in the former German Democratic Republic. However, Marileidy Paulino wants to make the impossible possible in 2025.
The Dominican winner of the 400-meter gold medal in the Paris Olympics (time of 48.17) is dedicated to making this happen during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September 2025.
During an AFP interview published in Diario Libre by EFE she explained her habit of slowing down towards the end of the race could make a difference. She explained she slows down when she sees herself as the winner. This is notable on her race videos.
Moreso, the reality is that breaking the record within the framework of the World Athletics Championships come with a hefty award of US$100,000 for each time the record is broken. If Paulino had broken the record during the Paris Olympic Games, she would not have cashed in on that award.
In the interview, she stated: “Next year, to break the record, we need to fine-tune the start, adjust the final 200 meters in the curve, where I lose some time, and finish strong. I don’t tire myself out or feel exhausted; I reach the finish line with more energy. But maybe (slowing down at the finish) is a bad habit I’ve developed because I don’t have someone pulling me through the last meters. My goal is to challenge myself,” she said.
Marileidy Paulino is more comfortable now that the Ministry of Sports is under new Minister Kelvin Cruz who is fully backing her efforts. Her coach, Cuban Yaseer Perez has also resolved his documentation problems so he can acccompany her on her travels. She highlighted in the interview that when an athlete wins, it is the result of teamwork.
When asked about Marita Koch’s world record, she told AFP:
“A lot of people say it’s an impossible mark, but I’ve shown, cleanly, thanks to God, that it’s not impossible. I can do it because I’ve demonstrated it in training. I just need to wait for the perfect day. I’m working toward it. I don’t know if it will happen next year, in two years, or at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but I’m working for it. My goal is to break 47 seconds, and when an athlete has that mindset, nothing can change it.”
Koch competed in an era when East Germany was known to be systematically doping its athletes under a program guarded by the Stasi, the East Germany secret police. Following the German reunification in 1990, the Stasi records were handed to a member of the German Science Council, Professor Werner Franke. He subsequently made those records, detailing who was receiving banned substances and in what quantities, available to the public. His wife, Brigitte Berendonk, also published a book in 1992 containing doping data for many East German athletes of the era, including Koch. Following its publication, Koch threatened to sue but never did.
The data detailing dosages of banned substances that Professor Franke published has been used on numerous occasions over the last 25 years. Specifically, it has helped former East German athletes claim compensation for medical conditions arising from their use of performance-enhancing drugs.
But the sport’s world governing body has never used these figures to launch its own investigation. It says it can’t act because there is a 10-year statute of limitations in the World Anti-Doping Agency code, external to which it adheres.
However, the IAAF told the BBC that “should an athlete subsequently admit to having used or taken advantage of a substance or a technique prohibited at the time”, then it could act. That could mean removing a record from the history books.
Meanwhile, Paulino is focused on breaking the unbeatable record.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Instagram AFP interview
YouTube Marita Koch race
BBC
Instagram Marileidy Paulino
Youtube
9 December 2024