On Saturday, in just 10.72 seconds St. Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred made history providing her home country its very first Olympic medal. The track star won gold in the women’s 100M race, besting American favorite Sha’Carri Richardson at the Stade de France stadium in the Paris Olympics. In addition to medaling, Alfred also set a national record for St. Lucia.
It was the manifestation of a long-awaited dream. Last August, Alfred told Olympics.com “Growing up, I always said I wanted to be one of St. Lucia’s first medalists… first gold medalists.”
“I’m really looking forward to going to the Olympic Games and trying to deliver at that level for my country,” and the NCAA athletics champion certainly delivered.
On race days, Alfred typically journals after waking up. Saturday’s entry: “I wrote down ‘Julien Alfred: Olympic champion,’” she stated. Hours later, this would become a reality.
The 23-year-old sprinted through rain, powering through puddles and past the other seven athletes, beating out second place “Richardson by .15 seconds — the biggest margin in the Olympic 100 since 2008.”
With this win, Alfred has become a household name, but for those who follow track and field, this was a logical next step. Although Alfred was raised in St. Lucia, she traveled north to the U.S. where she attended college, competing as a Longhorn track and field athlete for the University of Texas, “where she competed from 2018 through 2023. Over the 2021-22 and 2022-2023 athletic seasons — her final two years as a college athlete — Alfred won the 100-meter and 4×100-meter events in the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships and the 60-meter and 200-meter events in the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships,” USA Today reports.
After the race, celebrations erupted across the diaspora, spilling onto social media. St. Lucia Prime Minster Philip J. Pierre even announced “There will be a holiday” on X.
St. Lucia wasn’t the only Caribbean nation with an Olympic medal. Dominica’s Thea Lafond won gold in the triple jump, bringing home their first Olympic medal. Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts took home silver in the triple jump, and Rajindra Campbell brought home bronze in the men’s shot put. Lindon Victor of Grenada clinched a bronze medal in the Men’s Decathlon.