The 26-year-old who runs for Uruguay is very good at running, and very good at saying “why not?”

Both paid off big on the hot and humid streets of Tokyo.

Julia Paternain has a cold.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the post-race celebrations, or the 24 hours of travel across continents.

Maybe it was just her immune system finally waving the white flag after a tough marathon build.

Whatever the cause, after powering through 26.2 grueling miles on the streets of Tokyo—in 86 degree heat and over 70 percent humidity—after suffering more than she ever had in her life, and after completing only her second marathon ever, Paternain’s body said, enough.

So now, a week removed from winning a surprise bronze medal in the marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in two hours, 27 minutes, and 23 seconds, the 26-year-old is finally resting.

“Everything’s just been…a lot,” she tells Outside Run, referring to the whirlwind of activity and attention she’s received since her now-viral finish inside Japan National Stadium on September 13.

“I was supposed to get my wisdom teeth out this week, but I postponed. That’s a future me problem.”

That future might include a lot more than dental work.

Because now that she’s catapulted herself to the global stage, people are paying attention.

Once just an understated talent quietly training in Flagstaff, Arizona, with the equally understated McKirdy Trained group, Paternain has suddenly become a name.

Google her and you’ll find headlines like: “Who Is Julia Paternain?”, “Julie MF Paternain!”, and “…the Best Story in Track and Field This Year.”

And it’s not just the result that’s resonated—it’s how she got there.

Born in Mexico, raised in the U.K., a Uruguayan national who ran for Penn State and Arkansas and now trains in the Arizona high desert, Paternain has taken a patchwork path to where she is today.

Add to that her Oscar-worthy reaction to winning her medal—the confusion, shock, and joy that played out for the world to see—and Paternain’s life, is, well, pretty much a movie.

Julia Paternain didn’t realize she had earned bronze until after she crossed the line of the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 14, 2025. (Photo: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Why Not?

The night before the marathon, Paternain and her coach, Jack Polerecky, sat down in their Tokyo hotel to talk strategy.

Planning for a world championship race is daunting for any athlete.

But for two absolute rookies at that level, it felt borderline surreal.

“I didn’t have many expectations,” Paternain says.

“So we started with our C goal, which was just to finish, because the conditions were supposed to be brutal.

The B goal was top 30. And then Jack said, ‘The A goal is top eight.’

I looked at him like, “That’s a little ambitious, isn’t it?”

Polerecky’s response? Why not you?

In the year they’d worked together, he’d seen what he called “crazy, untapped potential” in Paternain.

She first came to Flagstaff—a bit broken, a bit uncertain—to visit her friend, Olympic steeplechaser Krissy Gear.

And in what seems to be a pattern for Paternain, her connection with Polerecky happened almost by chance.

“I was just figuring out what to do next, and I wound up on a run with Dani, Jack’s wife,” Paternain explains.

“I told her, ‘ I don’t know what I’m really doing, but I know I want to run, and I know I need a coach.”

It turned out Polerecky was in the early stages of building out a women’s pro team for McKirdy Trained.

Dani suggested to Paternain that she call Jack, and the pair eventually met up for coffee.

Polernecky listened to her story—an outstanding high school career in the U.K., some flashes of success in college at Penn State but plenty of injuries and inconsistency.

She loved long-distance running but didn’t think she was ready for the marathon just yet.

Polerecky was intrigued.

He agreed the marathon could wait. First, they’d just get through one healthy training block.

But it didn’t take long to realize she could handle the volume—and thrive.

A strong 10-miler here, a solid half marathon there, and by spring, they decided to go all-in.

At the McKirdy Micro Road to Tokyo Marathon in March, Paternain ran 2:27:09—qualifying for worlds, setting a national record for Uruguay, and breaking four other national records along the way: 5K, 10K, 20K, and the half marathon.

Despite lining up against a field stacked with far more experienced runners, Paternain didn’t hesitate to seize the chance to represent Uruguay.

The reward in Tokyo wasn’t meant to be the result, but the experience: her second marathon, her first global race, and a debut on the world’s biggest stage.

“I didn’t really have anything else lined up,” Paternain says with a shrug. “So it was like…why not?”

“She just kept moving up.”

Paternain’s race plan for Tokyo was simple: Even pacing, nail the nutrition, and keep as cool and hydrated as possible—critical in the brutal race-day conditions.

The heat bothered her, sure. But she had trained for it.

“We knew early on it was going to be hot,” she says, citing that her other major races in heat were close to disastrous.

“So I had a few months to wrap my head around it and really prepare.

We did the sauna three or four times a week, got in the ice vest, and figured out cooling strategies. That all really helped.”

Polerecky, knowing his charge was apt to struggle in the warm temps and humidity, researched various approaches to simulating conditions during the build to Tokyo.

“We had a protocol we’ve used before—mainly the sauna work in the final weeks—but we also tried some new things specific to Tokyo,” he says.

“Researching supplements, using ice towels, wearing cooling headbands. We didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”

By race day, all those details mattered.

Paternain didn’t panic as others faded. She didn’t chase anyone. She just kept moving forward, eyes ahead.

Julia Paternain stayed patient and diligent with fueling, hydration, and cooling to methodically work her way up through the field in Tokyo. (Photo: Photo by YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images)

“I didn’t want to look behind me.

I didn’t want to know if someone was on my shoulder,” she says.

“I didn’t even see the two women ahead of me when we got to the track.

I was just trying to finish. My body hurt so much.”

Polerecky, stationed at the aid station at the 15K and 30K marks, watched her progress in real time.

“The first time I saw her she was around 30th place,” he says. “But she looked better every time she passed.

By 30K, she was in 12th, and I started thinking, OK, she’s going to have a really good day.”

Still, he wasn’t prepared for what came next.

Most of his updates came through the team group chat and texts from his wife.

“She’s in 8th!” one message said. Then: “6th. 4th. She’s in medal contention!”

“When I saw she was in eighth, I was already out-of-my-mind stoked,  and then every place above that just seemed better and better and better,” Polerecky says.

“Once she got in third place,  I was speechless, I couldn’t believe it.”

By the time Paternain crossed the finish line with a bronze medal, Polerecky was on the team bus, screaming and celebrating with a Uruguayan coach. “Everyone was excited and congratulating us,” he recalls. “It’s still hard to believe.”

Bronze medalist Julia Paternain of Uruguay, gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, and silver medalist Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia pose for a photo after the women’s marathon on day two of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 at National Stadium on September 14, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo: Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images)

Though she’s never lived in Uruguay, Paternain has been embraced by the country with open arms, both at the world championships, and now in the aftermath of claiming the country’s first-ever medal at a senior global championships.

“I’ve gotten videos of little kids waving the flag, saying thank you.

That meant so much,” she says, adding that the country has extended an invitation for her to visit for a proper celebration.

“I want to be a role model for girls there—just so they know that running professionally is even an option.”

Before she travels, she’ll give herself permission to pause.

After months of grinding training, the race itself, and the attention that followed, Paternain knows rest is part of the work.

The cold she caught after returning home was her body’s reminder that even medalists need breaks here and there.

What comes next is wide open. Maybe a spring major, maybe chasing faster times (she wants to break her half marathon PR of 1:10:16), definitely the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon.

But whatever the next chapter looks like for Paternain, it’ll likely be unpredictable—and that’s just fine with her.