A former British cross-country champion with strong Cambridge roots has claimed a surprise bronze medal in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
She crossed the line in 2:27:23, securing Uruguay’s first ever medal at a senior global athletics championships.
Paternain appeared confused as she finished, and had to be told by an official that she had completed the race.
“I was terrified that wasn’t the finish,” she said. “I thought maybe there was another 400 metres to go. I could not believe it.”
Her time was just 14 seconds outside her personal best, set on her marathon debut in New York earlier this year. Only Kenya’s Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and Ethiopia’s world record-holder Tigist Assefa finished ahead of her.
Ranked 288th in the world before the race, Paternain said a medal had not been part of her expectations.
“We had three goals. C goal was just to finish, because it was so hot and humid. B goal was maybe top 30. A goal was top eight. A medal was not even on the radar,” she said.
The race unfolded with Paternain keeping a measured pace through the first half, running just behind a pack of leaders. As other runners began to fade in the stifling heat, she moved steadily forward, maintaining consistent splits and passing competitors who had started too fast.
By the final 10 kilometres, she was in a small chasing group and gradually overtook several runners. Even when entering the Japan National Stadium for the last stretch, she did not know she was in the medal positions.
“I had no clue,” she said. “I just wanted to run smart. I didn’t think about place.”
After the race she posted on Instagram: “What just happened?! Honestly, I’m still struggling to put together words to describe how I feel after yesterday. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be saying I am a bronze medallist at the World Championships.”
Born in Mexico, Paternain moved to Cambridge at age two and attended Hills Road Sixth Form. She won English Schools titles over 3,000m in 2017 and 2018 before representing Great Britain at the 2019 European Under-23 Championships, finishing sixth in the 10,000m.
She later studied in the United States, competing for Penn State University and then the University of Arkansas in NCAA events. She switched allegiance to Uruguay in January 2025, her parents’ home country.
Earlier this year she set a Uruguayan national record on her marathon debut with a time of 2:27:09. She also signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with Saucony in 2025.
Her performance in Tokyo is the first World Championships medal for Uruguay and has drawn praise across the country. Paternain said the achievement was especially meaningful for younger athletes back home.
“If this proves anything, it’s that anyone can put in the work,” she said. “Representing this country is a pride. It makes my parents very happy too.”
She said she will focus on short-term goals for now. “If you’d asked me a year ago whether I’d even be running a marathon, I’d have said no,” she said. “So right now, I’m taking it month by month.”
Her longer-term ambition is to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
