athletics
The runner wins the World Cup bronze with her second marathon
Julia Paternain hardly dared to do anything at the World Athletics Championships. But at the finish line, the marathon runner found herself on a medal rank – without knowing it.
Julia Paternain took a few moments to grasp what had just happened. The marathon runner was apparently moved into the Tokyo nation stadium without knowing what place she was in. At the finish line, it was slowly the realization: she had sensationally won the bronze medal at the World Athletics World Cup.
Paternain had gone into the race, but that’s not the only reason that her medal is such a surprise. Because the athlete from Uruguay just started with the marathon, in Tokyo she only ran her second race. The fact that she did this right at a World Cup and then landed on the podium goes through as a sports fairy tale. On the other hand, it fits your eventful history.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by world athletics (@worldathletics)
At this point, our editorial team has integrated content from Instagram.
Due to their data protection settings, this content was not invited to protect their privacy.
Marathon medalist: three passes and a green card
The 25-year-old was born in Mexico as a child of Uruguayan parents. She grew up in England, where she also started running – first on medium -haul routes. In her youth she ran for England and then switched to Uruguay: “My blood is uruguyaic.” She went to the USA to study.
“I have three passes and a green card,” jokes the runner. In the United States, she continued to do sports, but the breakthrough did not want to succeed. “My career was a mess,” Paternain looks back. In the meantime, she even pulled back completely and only ran as a hobby.
But then Julia Paternain liked the longer distances: only half marathon, then even the full distance over 42.195 kilometers. And obviously she had talent for it. At her first marathon in March, she set a new Uruguayan record. In doing so, she qualified for the World Cup in Tokyo.
Just started with the marathon, now sensation at the World Athletics World Cup
At the World Cup, her second marathon in general, only the Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, Olympic champion of 2021, and world recordler Tigist Asefa from Ethiopia were faster. With her third place, Paternain won the first medal for Uruguay at World Athletics Championships. As she told after the race, she was largely blind: “Usually people call you your position, but it was all in Japanese. When I went to the stadium, I thought I was fifth or sixth.”
“If I had asked me a year ago if I would ever run a marathon, I would have answered no,” says Julia Paternain. “If my bronze medal shows something, then everyone can do it.”
Sources: ,,
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
