Marileidy Paulino

Marileidy Paulino (born 25 October 1996) is a Dominican athlete sprinter specializing in the 400 meters.

Paulino was born in Don Gregorio village, in the Nizao municipality of the Peravia province, on 25 October 1996.

She lives in a single parent family raised by her mother, Anatalia Paulino and is the fifth of six brothers and sisters.

The hardships experienced inspired her to set up a foundation to help orphans and this is still a dream she carries in her mind and soul.

Paulino was discovered while studying at the Alirio Paulino High School in her hometown of Nizao and began getting involved in sports.

She played volleyball and almost made the handball national team.

After playing for a year she was seen competing by the then sports minister and was included in the track and field camp and recruited by the Athletics Federation.

She started practicing track and field barefoot.

She is defined by her Cuban coach as a disciplined person.

As a Christian, she has declared that her natural talent was given by God, who she proclaimed, has held her.

As of 2021, she studies physical education at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Paulino is a corporal from the Dominican Air Force having won several medals in the Dominican Republic Military Games for them.

She competed in the III Dominican Republic Youth Games winning the 100 m silver medal with a 12.70 time representing her province, Peravia.

She led her province in the Restoration Cup handball tournament with 6 goals.

She helped the Southern Region of the Dominican Republic to win the Relay, Jump and Throw Festival when she was part of the 4 x 100 meters that won the tournament's bronze medal.

Paulino was part of the 4 x 100 meters relay team that finished in fifth place at the Ibero-American Championships with 44.56.

She then traveled to Havana, Cuba for the Memorial Barrientos, arriving in fifth place in the 100 m with 11.61 and winning the silver medal in 200 m with 24.10.

Paulino surprisingly won the Athletics National Championships in 100 m with 11.96 and was defined as recipient of the country's main hope in female athletics.

In Cali, Colombia, Paulino participated in the Valle Oro Puro Grand Prix, having finished in the sixth place of the 200 m with 24.15.

Already recruited by the Athletics Federation and envisioned as one of the sport rising talents, she traveled to the NACAC Under-23 Championships in San Salvador, El Salvador.

She ranked fifth in 100 m with a time of 12.02 in the heats and was fifth in the final with an 11.98 time.

She ran 24.43 in the 200 m preliminary round heats and 24.00 in the final, ending in sixth place.

Praised by the president of the national federation for her physical conditions and mentioned among a group a talented young athletes who were projected to be the future of athletics in the country, she participated in the Dominican Republic Military games, winning the 100 m silver medal with an 11.63 time, bronze in 400 m with a 56.30 and winning the gold medals in 4 x 100m (40.39) and 4 x 100m Relays (3:40.96).

Paulino settled with the silver medal when the three times Olympic athlete, Mariely Sánchez defeat her in the National Championships' 100 m finals.

At the Ximena Restrepo International Grand Prix held in Medellín, Colombia, she took part in the 100 m finishing in sixth place with 11.67 and had 23.78 in 200 m to win the bronze medal.

During the Memorial Barrientos in Cuba she participated in the 200 m where she clocked 24.02 in the preliminary heats and 23.77 in the final winning the gold medal.

She also won the gold medal in 4 × 100 metres relay with 45.37.

Later that year, she represented the Dominican Republic at the Summer Universiade in the 200 metres where she timed 24.13 finishing 13rd in the heats and 23.95 ranking 11 in the semifinals but did not make it to the finals.

She also took part in the 4 × 100 metres relay, but her team was disqualified in the preliminary round.

She took part at the Dominican Republic Military Games winning gold in both 100 m with 11.74 and 200 m with 23.35, and with those results, she qualified for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games and later led her military branch team that won the 4 × 100 meters relay.

She participated in the Ximena Restrepo International Grand Prix, she won the gold in 100 m with an 11.62 mark and the bronze in 200 m with 23.63.

Preparing tour the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, she took part at the Villanova Invitational at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, New York where she set a new 200 m national record when she won the golden medal with 23.82, beating the former record of 24.19 held by Mariely Sánchez Hichez also winning silver medal in the 60 m event by clocking 7.45.

During the National Evangelical University internal tournament, she placed first in the preliminary round of the 100 m with 11.98 and the same time to claim the gold medal.

Paulino won the silver medal in the 200 meters at the 2019 Military World Games and gold for the 400 m at the 2022 Ibero-American Championships and the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games.

She won the 2022 Diamond League 400 m title.

She is the Dominican Republic record holder for the indoor 60 m, 200 m indoors and out, and 400 m.

She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first woman from the Dominican Republic to earn an individual Olympic medal in athletics.

Paulino took silver at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.

At these competitions, she earned also silver and gold in the mixed 4×400 m relay respectively, running legs of 48.7 s in 2021 and 48.47 s in 2022.

Since May 2023, Paulino is the 400 m ranked world No. 1.