Marileidy Paulino’s Movie!
Santo Domingo, Oct 22 (EFE) –
The story of sacrifice and overcoming adversity of sprinter Marileidy Paulino arrives in Dominican Republic cinemas this Thursday with the premiere of ‘Marileidy’, a film that narrates the difficulties of her beginnings until becoming one of the main figures in world athletics.
The production, directed by Jessica HasbĂşn and Kelvin Liria, seeks to show the woman behind the medals and records, through personal episodes that marked her life and notes from her own diary.
Paulino, who will turn 30 on October 25, became the first Dominican woman to win a gold medal at that level in her specialty of the 400 meters at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with a record time of 48 seconds and 17 hundredths.
During the film’s premiere, ‘Caribbean Gazelle’ highlighted, amid applause, the significance of the film for her, her family, and her team, considering that they are all part of the story that led her to achieve sporting success.
The sprinter, nominated this 2026 for athlete of the year by World Athletics, recalled the most difficult moments of her beginnings in athletics, when she even consumed glasses of sugar water as food, to continue fighting for her dream.
‘Marileidy’ stars fellow athlete Yisneidy Alcántara and includes locations linked to Paulino’s life, such as Nizao (south of the Dominican Republic), where the 2023 Budapest World Champion was born and raised.
“I think the film reflects the situation many young athletes are going through. It shows how effort, need, and perseverance can allow us to rise to the top and stay there, even if we’re down,” he pointed out.
The producers hope the film will reach young people, students, and athletes especially as a message of perseverance and motivation to pursue their goals, regardless of the obstacles they encounter.
“Today I can say that I have motivated many young people and I will continue to motivate them because Marileidy doesn’t stop. She will continue fighting as long as she has life and health, with God leading the way,” he expressed.
The Dominican originally played handball, until a coach recommended athletics, which she refused on several occasions.
“I didn’t like athletics, but once I gained respect for it, I understood that I had to discipline myself and work hard to excel, because if others saw the talent I had, what I had to do was live up to those expectations,” the renowned runner said.
“Owner” of the Diamond League and heroine in her country
Since her emergence in world athletics, with her silver medals in individual and 4×400 team events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Marileidy Paulino has done nothing but string together a career of successes that turned her into a phenomenon on the track.
The Dominican is the “owner” of the Diamond League, with her dominance in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026, the latter being a brilliant year in her career.
Paulino dominated every event in 2026, including a thrilling race in front of his compatriots at the Central American and Caribbean Games on August 5th. He ran unopposed to the finish line in a downpour that added a spectacular element to the moment, cheered on by thousands of people who, undeterred by the rain, excitedly witnessed his victory. There, he sealed the race with a new record: 48.94 seconds.
Two days earlier, Dominicans were already celebrating the feats of their track heroine, as she led her country to gold in the 4×400 meters with a time of 3 minutes, 10 seconds and 57 hundredths (3:10.57), also a new record for Central America and the Caribbean.
Paulino won eight international competitions this year.
He dominated the Diamond League from start to finish, with victories in Doha; Paris (record with 48.48); Monaco; London; Silesia (Poland) and in the final in Brussels.
In London she dominated the first edition of the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, before finishing her season in the Athlos, the exclusive event for professional women in athletics, in the British capital.
