St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred stunned the world by defeating her closest rivals, including the USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson, with a time of 10.72 seconds to win the gold medal in the Women’s 100m final at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday, August 3.
Alfred’s victory marks the first-ever Olympic medal for her country.
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The St. Lucian athlete, whose 10.72-second timing made her the eighth-fastest woman in history, outran Richardson, who finished with a time of 10.87 seconds. Another American, Melissa Jefferson, claimed bronze with a time of 10.92 seconds.
Before her exceptional performance at the Olympics, Alfred had a notable record in track and field. She was a silver medalist in the 100 meters at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and is a joint North American indoor record holder for the 60 meters.
She was the first woman in NCAA history to break the seven-second barrier in the 60 meters and is a three-time individual NCAA Division I champion.
By Dotun Omisakin
1 Comment
St. Lucia, a tiny island of less than 180,000 people, has produced a gold medal in the 100m women sprint event. This is the FIRST EVER Olympic medal for St. Lucia, and it just happens to be a gold.
This gold medal was taken in the presence of traditional powerhouses Jamaica and United States.
How does a country with such a small population produce an Olympic champion in one of the most coveted events?
That’s the beauty of sports. The impossible sometimes becomes reality.
The hitherto favourites in this event had been blowing their trumpets in the past weeks, winding mouth on social media and Netflix shows.
They did not see Alfred coming.