Julien Alfred continued the Caribbean domination in the women’s Olympic Games 100m, storming down the purple track in a world-leading 10.72 on Saturday night to let the world know that St. Lucia has something to say.
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“This morning I wrote it down—Julien Alfred, Olympic Champion,” said Alfred in her post-race press conference. “I think just believing in myself and trusting that I could do it is what really mattered to me.”
The island of less than 200,000 gave the athletics world a new sprint sensation as Alfred became the third consecutive woman from the Caribbean to win Olympic 100m gold, following Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2008, 2012) and Elaine Thompson-Herah (2016, 2021).
Alfred, 23, born in Ciceron, Castries, Saint Lucia, finished high school at Saint Catherine in Jamaica before enrolling and competing for the University of Texas. She would gather several NCAA and Big 12 Conference titles, many in record fashion, before graduating and signing with Puma in 2023.
At the 2023 World Championships, she finished fifth in the 100m, a significant step up in fortune after false starting in the semifinals the year prior in Eugene.
“Last year was just about NCAA’s and then whatever was left for World Championships,” said Alfred. “This year the main goal was the Olympics.”
How did Julien Alfred win St. Lucia’s first Olympic Games gold medal?
Heading into the finals this year, there was a bit of drama as two-time Olympic 100m champion and five-time Olympian Fraser-Pryce announced her withdrawal from competition before her semifinal heat. This came just a few days after countrywoman Shericka Jackson announced she would be pulling out of the 100m to focus on her signature 200m.
Alfred went on to win the race, holding off a fast-closing Richardson, 10.84 to 10.89, setting up what would at least seemingly be a competitive final.
“This year I’ve had a good strategy of focusing on my execution only and nobody next to me, and I think that has worked in my favor,” said Alfred.
The race was over midway, as Alfred quickly caught the fast-starting and only surviving Jamaican, Tia Clayton, by 30m. By 60m, Alfred had a meter lead on everyone and powered to the finish line in a new National Record (NR).
Pre-race favorite Sha’Carri Richardson finished in a distant second with a time of 10.87. Fellow American Melissa Jefferson was third in 10.92.
The young, fast-starting Clayton, 19, faded to seventh (11.04), while another huge favorite, veteran Marie-Josée Ta Lou of Ivory Coast, pulled up halfway through.
Alfred shared the night of Caribbean breakthroughs and firsts, as triple jumper Thea LaFond, representing the Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour: Dominica, another small Windward island just 108 miles north of St. Lucia, jumped to her nation’s first gold (and medal) as well.
“I feel honored just to be an ambassador for my country,” said Alfred. “Being an Olympic champion now, I’m sure that a lot of people will be searching for St. Lucia, and I just feel so honored to wear my country’s name across my chest.”
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