What to know about the Dominican sprinter and gold winner – NBC New York

Dominican sprinter Marileidy Paulino had her eyes on the prize — to win the gold medal within the ladies’s 400-meter closing on the 2024 Paris Olympics Friday afternoon — and he or she did simply that, all whereas setting an Olympic Document!

With the win Paulino turns into the primary girl from the Dominican Republic to win gold and the primary Dominican Olympian to take gold since Félix Sánchez in London 2012, when he dominated the 400m hurdles.

Paulino dominated the qualifying spherical and the semi-final to change into a prime contender for the ultimate. In each occasions, it was notable how Paulino slowed down within the metres earlier than the end line.

Paulino got here near taking gold in Tokyo, however needed to accept silver within the particular person occasion and within the combined 4x400m relay.

“Whether it is mandatory (to interrupt the file) to win the gold medal, I’ll do it,” Paulino mentioned.

And that she did.

The Olympic file for the ladies’s 400m belongs to the French Marie-José Pérec, who clocked 48.25 in Atlanta 1996. Paulino simply surpassed Pérec’s file clocking in 48.17. (The world file of 47.60 has been held by the German Marita Koch since 1985.)

With out the reigning Olympic champion from the Bahamas, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, the Bahraini sprinter Salwa Eid Nasser, who was world champion in Doha 2019, is a prime rival for Paulino. Nasser clocked one of the best time within the semi-finals (49.08). One other rival is the Polish Natalia Kacz Marek.

The 27-year-old, the second youngest of six siblings, has no sporting background within the household, in accordance with her official Olympics biography. She grew up taking part in pick-up sports activities in her native Don Gregorio, situated an hour away from Santo Domingo.

Her athletic skills have been seen when she was 18 and taking part in handball. In line with the Olympics.com, it was at the moment that the nation’s sports activities minister seen her expertise and he or she was recruited to the athletics federation.

Paulino was finally provided a month-to-month wage to affix the Dominican Air Power as a monitor and subject athlete, a sport she began to actually dedicate and focus her time on in 2015.

Though she began out as a 100m and 200m sprinter, she moved to 400m in 2020.

“I began working barefoot, then wore socks, trainers after which borrowed spikes till I used to be capable of purchase a pair,” she beforehand advised Olympics.com. 

Paulino was chosen as a flag bearer for the Dominican Republic within the 2024 Paris Olympics.

American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone obliterated her personal world file within the ladies’s 400-meter hurdles, retaining her Olympic title with a time of fifty.37 seconds.