{"id":1040007536,"date":"2025-09-14T05:06:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T04:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/?p=1040007536"},"modified":"2025-09-15T01:29:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T00:29:25","slug":"julia-paternain-from-english-schools-champ-to-world-marathon-medallist-for-uruguay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/julia-paternain-from-english-schools-champ-to-world-marathon-medallist-for-uruguay-1040007536\/","title":{"rendered":"Julia Paternain \u2013 from English Schools champ to world marathon medallist for Uruguay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peres Jepchirchir out-kicked Tigist Assefa to win gold in Tokyo with a surprise bronze going to little-known Uruguayan runner with links to Britain, Mexico and the US.<\/p>\n

When Julia Paternain entered the stadium in third place in the World Championships marathon on Sunday (Sept 14), she was overcome with feelings of disbelief and then jubilation when it she realised she had won one of the most unexpected medals in World Champs history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea I was in third,\u201d she said. \"I also wasn't sure that was the finish line. I truly cannot believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old was such an outsider, she only just squeezed into the championships as the final athlete to qualify via the World Athletics rankings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Within moments of her winning a medal fans from multiple countries were trying to claim a bit of her. Born in Mexico, she moved to England when she was two years old and grew up racing on the British distance running circuit for Cambridge & Coleridge. She went to study in the United States at Penn State and University of Arkansas, spent some time in California \u201chaving a break and working things out\u201d and has recently been based at altitude in Flagstaff, Arizona.<\/p>\n

Her tight-knit family is from Uruguay, though, and this is why the blue and white flag of the South American country will be raised when she attends what is certain to be an emotional medals ceremony.<\/p>\n

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Peres Jepchirchir beats Tigist Assefa (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya sprinted to victory in 2:24:43, a couple of seconds ahead of runner-up Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia, Paternain coolly picked off rivals in the latter stages to surge into third place, finishing in 2:27:23.<\/p>\n

In warm, humid conditions, Susanna Sullivan of the United States was fourth in 2:28:17 and Alisa Vainio of Finland fifth in 2:28:32. In ninth, the Irish veteran Fionnuala McCormack clocked 2:30:16 at the age of 40 to make the top 10.<\/p>

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The big story of the race, though, was Paternain\u2019s surprise medal. When she moved into a medal position, suddenly everyone was asking \u2018who is Uruguayan runner and where has she come from?\u2019<\/p>\n

She explained: \u201cI\u2019m from all over! I have three passports and a green card!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Julia Paternain (Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of her dozen-strong family are from Uruguay with most of them still living there. She trains under coach Jack Polerecky from the McKirdy group in the United States, but running-wise she enjoyed her early years in the UK \u2013 due to her father teaching maths at Cambridge University \u2013 where she was trained by Mark Vile in the east of England.<\/p>\n

When she placed a modest 106th in the English Schools Cross Country Championships in Blackburn in 2015, who would have thought she would make a World Champs podium 10 years later?<\/p>

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In 2017 she won the English Schools 3000m crown, before winning the same title again in 2018 in addition to Home Nations International cross country gold. Certainly, her Power of 10 profile<\/a> is as long as your arm and her name has appeared in the pages of AW<\/em> many times.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Julia Paternain (@juliapaternain_)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n