After a successful Olympic Games in Paris, Julien Alfred became the first athlete from Saint Lucia to win medals for her nation. Her ascent to the top hasn’t been easy, either, as she struggled to pay for even the most basic training equipment.
In the women’s 100-meter final at the Stade de France, Alfred triumphed over Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson, setting a new national record in the process with a time of 10.72 seconds. With respective speeds of 10.87s and 10.92s, Richardson and Jefferson had to settle for second and third place.
The 23-year-old placed second in the 200-meter final, finishing just 0.8 seconds behind Gabby Thomas’s run of 21.83 seconds. Brittany Brown, another American, finished third on the podium in 22.20 seconds.
Alfred recently described in an interview how her difficult background inspired her to compete for the top ranks at the Olympic Games.
It is based on my own experience of growing up and facing challenges. We occasionally ran without running shoes,” the woman remarked (via Virgin Islands Consortium).
Alfred began her athletic career at the age of nine, but the death of her father—one of her favourite cheerleaders—nearly put an end to it. Cuthbert Modeste, the coach of the “Survivors” track club, was her mentor at the time.
She disclosed that in addition to her backer dying, her family was having financial difficulties, which made her leave the camp. Coach Modeste, though, made sure her gift was not wasted:
“After my father passed away in 2013, I actually stopped running in grade six. Twa Ti Né then returned to look for me in Ciceron. Alfred remarked, “He came to Ciceron and he looked for me to return.
She continued, “He always picked me up at the Ciceron bus stop and drove me to Mindoo Phillip Park for training.
Alfred added that she could feel the weight of the hopes for the island nation bearing down on her:
“I thought, ‘I have to go to the Olympics and perform the exact same thing, because my country is applauding me.'” “Every time I take the track, my nation observes.”
She was able to concentrate on the advantages of such hopes, though:
“I’m proud of myself for being able to do it, regardless of whether I won a medal or not,” the woman remarked.
Alfred’s short-term goals include “coming back to her origins” after almost ten years away from her homeland:
“I was talking about how much I needed to go back home, go back to what I knew, go back to my roots, and just rest even before I won the gold in the Olympics.”
At her global championship debut at the 2022 World Championships, the Saint Lucian was disqualified in the women’s 100m semifinal for starting 0.095 seconds after the gun. She then raced at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, finishing fifth in the women’s 100m final and fourth in the women’s 200m final.
Alfred opened her 2024 season with a win in the 60m dash at the World Indoor Championships before asserting her authority at the Paris Olympic Games.
Julien Alfred recounts what cost her a gold medal in women’s 200m at Paris Olympics
After a successful Olympic Games in Paris, Julien Alfred became the first athlete from Saint Lucia to win medals for her nation. Her ascent to the top hasn’t been easy, either, as she struggled to pay for even the most basic training equipment.
In the women’s 100-meter final at the Stade de France, Alfred triumphed over Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson, setting a new national record in the process with a time of 10.72 seconds. With respective speeds of 10.87s and 10.92s, Richardson and Jefferson had to settle for second and third place.
The 23-year-old placed second in the 200-meter final, finishing just 0.8 seconds behind Gabby Thomas’s run of 21.83 seconds. Brittany Brown, another American, finished third on the podium in 22.20 seconds.
Alfred recently described in an interview how her difficult background inspired her to compete for the top ranks at the Olympic Games.
It is based on my own experience of growing up and facing challenges. We occasionally ran without running shoes,” the woman remarked (via Virgin Islands Consortium).
Alfred began her athletic career at the age of nine, but the death of her father—one of her favourite cheerleaders—nearly put an end to it. Cuthbert Modeste, the coach of the “Survivors” track club, was her mentor at the time.
She disclosed that in addition to her backer dying, her family was having financial difficulties, which made her leave the camp. Coach Modeste, though, made sure her gift was not wasted:
“After my father passed away in 2013, I actually stopped running in grade six. Twa Ti Né then returned to look for me in Ciceron. Alfred remarked, “He came to Ciceron and he looked for me to return.
She continued, “He always picked me up at the Ciceron bus stop and drove me to Mindoo Phillip Park for training.
Alfred added that she could feel the weight of the hopes for the island nation bearing down on her:
“I thought, ‘I have to go to the Olympics and perform the exact same thing, because my country is applauding me.'” “Every time I take the track, my nation observes.”
She was able to concentrate on the advantages of such hopes, though:
“I’m proud of myself for being able to do it, regardless of whether I won a medal or not,” the woman remarked.
Alfred’s short-term goals include “coming back to her origins” after almost ten years away from her homeland:
“I was talking about how much I needed to go back home, go back to what I knew, go back to my roots, and just rest even before I won the gold in the Olympics.”
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