Julien Alfred Beats Sha’Carri Richardson To Win The 100m..

The 23-year-old sprinter Julien Alfred put on an impressive performance in Paris to become the greatest sprinter of all time. She sprinted away from Sha’Carri Richardson, a superstar in the US, to win gold at the Olympics.

Alfred ripped off her bib and pointed to her name after Alfred crossed the finish line in 10.72 seconds, making her the eighth fastest woman in history. She held her hands in disbelief as she did so.

Sha’Carri Richardson, the pre-race favorite, Netflix star, and current world champion, came in close behind her to win silver in 10.87, while Melissa Jefferson, another American, won bronze in 10.92. England’s Daryll Neita was fourth in 10.96.

Julien Alfred tells the story of her extraordinary rise to fame in track and field from a tiny island in the Caribbean with a population of around 180,000 people.

She elaborated,

“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,” she explained. “We barely have the right facilities. The stadium is not fixed. I hope this gold medal will help St Lucia build a new stadium, to help the sport grow.”

Alfred started competing in track and field when she was six or seven years old and her PE teacher noticed her and told her to challenge the boys in her year. She quickly defeated them and honed her skills at a nearby club. Yet there were several bumps on the way too, most notably when she quit the sport at 12 after her father died.

However, her coach encouraged her to return, and her ambition was such that she traveled alone to Jamaica at the age of 14. On the morning of this greatest victory, she was inspired by Usain Bolt, the greatest track and field athlete ever, as she watched videos of his Olympic wins and began to believe she could defeat Richardson too.

She continued,

“This morning I woke up and wrote it down, ‘Julien Alfred, Olympic champion. So I think believing in myself really was important.”

Alfred appeared calm, despite the sudden onset of rain just before the race. However, Alfred was already leading and slipping away within 30 meters.

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Sha’Carri Richardson was having trouble keeping up at that point. Soon, triumphantly, Alfred was roaring through the line as the winner.

She acknowledged,

“You don’t ever see me celebrate like that. I’m just happy it happened in the biggest race of my career. I’m going to be honest. I watched Usain Bolt’s races this morning. I watched how he executed. I grew up watching him too.

“It feels amazing to win gold. 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.”

The majority of people were already mentally wrapping gold around the 24-year-old Sha’CarriRichardson. She won the world title. In 2024, the fastest women— the athlete who has the greatest potential. However, she was unable to make it this time due to the pressures brought on by the Olympic demands.

Richardson had been out in lane nine, away from the main characters, when she won the world title in Budapest in 2023. Yet, there was no concealing spot in lane seven, with Alfred close by her.

Alfred, on the other hand, needs to consider the women’s 200-meter race before she can truly celebrate. She then gave this victory to her father, who believed she could achieve her goals.

“He passed away in 2013, and now he couldn’t get to see me on the biggest stage of my career,” she said. “But he’ll always be so boastful of his daughter being an Olympian.”