Julien Alfred, from the small island nation of Saint Lucia with a population of about 200,000, made history by winning the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter race at the Paris 2024 Olympics, a feat that had her entire nation celebrating. She finished ahead of the favorite, Sha’Carri Richardson, who took silver with a time of 10.87 seconds, and Melissa Jefferson, who came in third at 10.92 seconds. Alfred’s winning time was a national record of 10.72 seconds, marking Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal.
After her historic performance, Alfred shared with the media, “I am thinking of God and my dad, who did not get to see me. He passed away in 2013. Dad, this is for you. I miss you, I did it for him, I did it for my coach, and God.” She also reflected on her early days in athletics, hoping her success might inspire the building of a new stadium in Saint Lucia. “Growing up, I used to be on the field struggling. With no shoes, running barefoot, running in school uniform, running all over the place. I hope this gold medal will help St. Lucia build a new stadium to help the sport grow,” she said.
Alfred spent her morning watching Usain Bolt’s races for inspiration, as Bolt, between 2008 and 2016, won six individual Olympic titles. At 23 years old, Alfred had already won gold in the world indoor 60-meter race earlier this year, making her the first athlete from Saint Lucia to achieve this. A multiple NCAA gold medalist for the University of Texas, she first made her mark on the international stage in 2017 by winning gold at the 100m Commonwealth Youth Games and then claiming silver at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. Alfred is set to compete again in the 200m heats on Sunday.
