by 
Olympic and world champion Marileidy Paulino extended her unbeaten streak by winning the women’s 400m on the first day of the Diamond League finals in Brussels on Friday.
Paulino, of the Dominican Republic, timed 49.45 seconds to win and is undefeated in a one-round competition since last year’s Diamond League meet in Silesia, Poland.
“I had a decent race at the end of a very long season,” Paulino said. “Of course I would have liked to run faster and get closer to my personal best, but it was really cold tonight.
“This season has been fantastic for me. With the gold medal in Paris, I can now say that I have won every title I could win.
“That doesn’t mean that I don’t have any goals left for the next few seasons. I want to get better and continue to win medals in major championships.”
Paulino’s winning time, however, was bettered by American hurdler star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in an invitational race.
“Running the 400 at the end of the season definitely hurts a little bit more and I felt some cramping,” McLaughlin-Levrone said.
“That’s why I chose to run with long paints, just to be safe. But I felt strong during the race.”
The American, who improved her own world record by winning back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 400m hurdles in Paris, had not competed in a Diamond League event this season and was therefore ineligible to compete. the final.
– Decide on the 200m tomorrow –
But organizers managed to lure McLaughlin-Levrone, who won a second Olympic gold medal in Paris with the U.S. 4x400m relay team, to Belgium to compete in invitational 200m and 400m flat races to to “honor” his Olympic achievements.
She landed in Belgium with the fourth fastest 400m time of the year, after running 48.75 seconds in New York in June.
But she failed to better that personal best, clocking 49.11 seconds for an easy victory over a weak field.
“My season always revolves around the major championships, and I developed my program with my coach Bob Kersee on this basis,” McLaughlin-Levrone explained about his absence from European competitions.
“Plus, I already have to be in top shape at the US trials to be able to compete in the Olympics. So attending meetings in Europe in between is not easy, the transcontinental travel is quite tiring.”
McLaughlin-Levrone, however, suggested that next year could be different given that the world championships will take place in Tokyo in mid-September.
“Maybe this will open up more opportunities to race in Europe, but we’ll see,” she said.
The McLaughlin-Levrone 200m invitational is scheduled for Saturday at 17:53 GMT, 20 minutes before the Diamond League final itself.
“We will go home, rest a little and decide tomorrow whether or not we run the 200m,” admitted the American.
lp/dmc
