Marleth Ospino

Happy birthday to Colombia’s sprinter Marleth Ospino, who this May came three hundredths of a second from owning her country’s outright 200m record.

At the national U23 championships in Armenia, Marleth ran 22.73 into a slight headwind to win the 200m: a new Colombian U23 national record, breaking her own previous 22.79, and just 0.03 outside the senior Colombian record of 22.70. She won the 100m at the same championships in 11.32 and took relay bronze with Atlántico. A sprint double and a national record inside one weekend.

It has been that kind of two years. She was part of Colombia’s squad at the World Championships in Tokyo in 2025, was selected for the World Relays in 2026, and already holds two Ibero-American silvers, a World U20 bronze and a South American U23 bronze. She is ranked 72nd in the world over 200m.

Three hundredths of a second. At 22, with the national record already inside her range and a relay squad built around her, there is a very great deal of runway left.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Marleth! Que cumplas muchos más, con mucha salud y mucha alegría, y que toda Barranquilla te oiga el día que caiga ese récord. 🎂🎁🎉🫶🫶🇨🇴