Julien Alfred storms to Olympic 100m gold in Paris

Julien Alfred stormed to the women’s 100m title at Paris 2024 to make history as St Lucia’s first Olympic medallist.
As the rain teemed down at a raucous Stade de France, Alfred, 23, dominated the final and sealed victory by a clear margin in a national record 10.72 seconds.
American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson took silver in 10.87, with compatriot Melissa Jefferson (10.92) third.
Great Britain’s Daryll Neita finished four-hundredths of a second off the podium in fourth, crossing the line in 10.96.

As Alfred crossed the line in 10.72sec, a time that made her the eighth fastest woman in history, she held her hands in disbelief before ripping her bib off and pointing to her name. Everyone, surely, will know it now.

“It feels amazing to win gold,” said Alfred. “I’m going through the motions right now. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I had to go out there, trust myself, trust my coach and most importantly trust God.”

Asked about how people would be celebrating in the tiny Caribbean island of St Lucia, which has a population of around 180,000, she added: “I’m sure they are having a time. Playing music, celebrating, drinking beers.”

It was the culmination of a journey that began at the age of six or seven at Leon Comprehensive School in Castries, the capital of St Lucia, when her PE teacher noticed her potential as she was beating the boys and got her training at a club. Yet there were bumps on the way too. Most notably when she quit the sport, at 12, when her father died.
However, her coach came to look for her and said he would do whatever he could to persuade her to continue – including help out her mum, who was now a single parent looking after four children.
Around the same time, the 23-year-old Alfred remembers being asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. “The next Usain Bolt” she replied. And there was something reminiscent of the great Jamaican as she left her rivals trailing in her dust.
Peoplesmind