Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred (© Dan Vernon)
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| Sprint star: | Julien Alfred |
| Country: | Saint Lucia |
| Born: | 10 June 2001 |
| Disciplines: | 60m, 100m, 200m |
| PBs: | 60m - 6.94, 100m - 10.72, 200m - 21.86 |
| Honours: | 1 x Olympic champion, 1 x Olympic silver medallist, 1 x world indoor champion, 1 x Diamond League title winner |
Julien Alfred made history for Saint Lucia in 2024. After claiming her nation’s first ever senior global medal in athletics by winning world indoor 60m gold in Glasgow in March, she went on to become her nation's first Olympic medallist in any sport, getting 100m gold in Paris in August.
She started the year as a Commonwealth Games and NCAA Championships medallist – her Commonwealth Games medal was claimed in the 100m in Birmingham in 2022 and she won multiple NCAA titles for the University of Texas in 2022 and 2023.
Alfred – who won 100m gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2017 and Youth Olympic Games silver in 2018 – also became a two-time senior world finalist in 2023, as she finished fourth in the 200m and fifth in the 100m at the World Championships in Budapest.
But 2024 was the year in which she stormed on to the global senior podium. At the World Indoor Championships, she ran 6.98 to equal the world lead that had been set by Poland’s Ewa Swoboda in the semifinals – pipping Swoboda by 0.02 in the final to get gold. Alfred’s winning mark was just 0.04 off the national record of 6.94 she had set one year prior.
Alfred carried that form with her through to the outdoor season. After a win at the Monaco Diamond League and runner-up finishes at the Diamond League meetings in Eugene and London, the latter in a national 200m record of 21.86, the 23-year-old went to the Olympic Games in Paris with medals on her mind.
She left the French capital with 100m gold and 200m silver. In the 100m she ran a national record of 10.72 to win ahead of world champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson, and in the 200m she clocked 22.08 to secure silver behind Gabby Thomas.
“It means a lot to me, my coach, my country, which I’m sure is celebrating now,” Alfred said after her 100m win.
“Growing up, I used to be on the field struggling. With no shoes, running barefoot, running in my school uniform, running all over the place. I hope this gold medal will help Saint Lucia build a new stadium, to help the sport grow.”
Watch more from the stars of SPRINT on Inside Track.
