World and Olympic 400m champion Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic) won her third diamond trophy after winning the final in Brussels clocking at 49.45 sec. The American track and field athlete Alexis Holmes finished second with 50.32 sec, and the European medalist Rhasidat Adeleke (Ireland) came third with 50.96 sec.
“I ran a decent race at the end of a very long season. Of course, I would have loved to run faster and closer to my personal best, but it was really, really cold tonight. This season was fantastic for me”, said Marileidy Paulino after her victory.
Marileidy Paulino took home the trophy, but her time was not the fastest in the women’s 400m today. The Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record holder in the event, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, clocked in 49.11 seconds at the pre-competition special 400m event, coasting to a comfortable victory. She was ineligible for the final as she had not started in any circuit events this season.
Marileidy Paulino won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, becoming the first woman from the Dominican Republic to earn an individual Olympic medal in athletics. At the subsequent Summer Olympics in Paris, she won the gold medal in the 400m event. Marileidy Paulino also took silver at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At these competitions, she also earned silver and gold in the mixed 4x400m relay respectively, running legs of 48.7 sec in 2021 and 48.47 sec in 2022. Since May 2023, Marileidy Paulino is the 400m ranked world No 1.
