Marileidy Paulino won the 400m gold at the Paris Diamond League

World and Olympic 400m silver medalist Marileidy Paulino defeated the world record holder, Olympic and world 400m hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone with a smooth 400m run at the Paris Diamond League.

Marileidy Paulino, who leads the400m hurdles world rankings for the season with 48.98 sec, prevailed with a strong final meters with 49.12 sec – a tied tournament record. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who even was expected to attack= the world record, went too fast in the first 300m and eventually settled for second place and a personal best of 49.71 sec.

“I felt great during the race. I had kind of a bad start, yet I was able to get back into the race in the second half and especially at the end”, said Marileidy Paulino after the race.

Salwa Eid Naser won the bronze with 49.95 sec.

Natalia Kaczmarek and Lieke Klaver, remained 4th and 5th, respectively.