Olympics: St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred Wins the Gold Metal
Sprinter Julien Alfred, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: X/ @NataliaElegante
April 7, 2024 Hour: 10:02 am
She beat out the U.S. sprinters Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson.
On Saturday, August 3, Olympic debutant Julien Alfred made sporting history for her home country of St. Lucia by claiming the gold medal in the women’s 100 meters.
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Setting a national record time of 10.72 seconds at the Stade de France, she beat out Americans Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson, who came in second and third respectively.
Her triumph was quite emotional given the hardships Alfred experienced during a sporting life full of efforts that led her to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“She remembered running barefoot all over the place as a kid growing up in St. Lucia. All those who helped her along the way, too. And the most powerful memory, the one that made her burst into tears, the thoughts of her late father, who believed this sort of moment was possible,” the AP recalled.
“He believed I could be an Olympian. That I can be here… To come out with the win, happy I was able to do it. I want to attribute it to my father… He’d be so boastful of his daughter being an Olympian,” Alfred said, as reported by AP.
teleSUR/ JF Source: AP
