Julien Alfred

Last updated

Julien Alfred
Julien Alfred Glasgow 2024.jpg
Alfred in 2024
Personal information
NicknameJuju
Born (2001-06-10) 10 June 2001 (age 23)
Ciceron, Castries, Saint Lucia
Education Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School, St. Catherine High School, University of Texas
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [1]
Sport
Country Saint Lucia
Sport Track and field
Event Sprints
College team Texas Longhorns
Coached by Edrick Floreal
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Paris 100 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2024 Paris 200 m
Diamond League
Gold medal icon.svg 2024 100 m
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Glasgow 60 m
Central American and Caribbean Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 San Salvador 100 m
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Birmingham 100 m
Youth Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2018 Buenos Aires 100 m
Commonwealth Youth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Nassau 100 m

Julien Alfred (born 10 June 2001) is a Saint Lucian sprinter. She won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres event, setting a new national record of 10.72s in the final. Her medal was the first-ever Olympic medal for Saint Lucia. She then won a silver in the 200 metres. Alfred also won the gold medal in the 60 metres at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Contents

Alfred was a silver medalist in the 100 metres at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She is the joint North American indoor record holder for the 60 metres, and was the first woman in NCAA history to break the seven-second barrier over the 60 m. Alfred is a three-time individual NCAA Division I champion.She is now the 100 meters world champion.

Biography

Alfred was born in the south Castries community of Ciceron. Her father died when she was 12 years old. She attended Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School in Saint Lucia (2013–2015) and St. Catherine High School in Jamaica (2015–2018). [2] She then pursued a bachelor's degree in Youth & Community Studies at the University of Texas in the United States, combining academic studies and athletics. [3]

Alfred was a Central American and Caribbean U15 champion in 2015. Both that year and in 2017, she was recognised as Saint Lucia’s Junior Sportswoman of the Year. [4] As a junior athlete, she was the Commonwealth Youth Games 100 m champion in 2017, when the Games were held in Nassau, Bahamas. She also captured silver in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina behind Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma.

2022

In 2022, Alfred had the all-time best NCAA performance in the 60 m at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, running a fast 7.04 s in the heats. [5] Then at the age of 21, she became one of the top 30 fastest women ever. Her run of 10.81 s (+1.7 m/s) in preliminaries of the women’s 100 m at the Big 12 Conference Championships in Lubbock, Texas on 14 May was a Saint Lucia national and championship record. [6] It also marked her as the fastest woman ever from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. At the time, only six Caribbean women had ever run faster, and in the NACAC region 17. The same month, she ran a wind-aided 10.80 s (+2.2 m/s) at the NCAA West Preliminary Round - the fastest time ever recorded under any conditions at the event. She won the 2022 NCAA Division I 100 m/m title in 11.02 s (+0.2 m/s) the day after her 21st birthday, completing an unbeaten collegiate season in that event. [7] Running for the University of Texas, she became the first track athlete from Saint Lucia to win a Division I championship, and just the second Saint Lucian overall, after high jumper Jeanelle Scheper. She next went on to win her event [8] at the inaugural Caribbean Games in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe in a time of 11.07 seconds (−0.2 m/s).

2023

On 25 February 2023, Alfred broke for the fourth time existing collegiate record and became the first woman in NCAA to ever dip under 7 seconds over the 60 metres with a time of 6.97 s at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lubbock, TX. Her time moved her up to eighth on the world all-time list. She also achieved the second-fastest all-time collegian mark in the 200 m of 22.26 s, behind only Abby Steiner, to become the fourth-fastest woman of all time. [9] On March 11 at the NCCA Indoors in Albuquerque, New Mexico (at altitude), Alfred improved at both these events with times of 6.94 s and 22.01 s respectively to take both titles and move to second on both respective world all-time lists. With "the greatest ever one day sprint double", [10] she missed Irina Privalova's 60 m world record from 1993 by two hundredths of a second but equalled Aleia Hobbs' North American record. In the 200 m, only Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 s dating back also to 1993 had been faster. [10] [11] Julien went on to compete in the women's 100m race at the Istvan Gyulai Memorial, crossing the finish line with a time of 10.89 seconds, [12] resulting in a victory over sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson.

After the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Alfred and TCU football star Max Duggan were named as Big 12 Conference Athletes of the Year. [13]

Selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, she qualified for the final of the 100 metres and finished in fifth place. [14] She also competed in the 200 metres at the Championships, and qualified for the finals and finished 4th. [15]

Alfred (left) at the 2024 World Indoor Championships Alfred and Dosso.jpg
Alfred (left) at the 2024 World Indoor Championships

2024

She won gold in the women's 60 metres at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, with a world leading time of 6.98 seconds. [16] It was Saint Lucia's first ever World Athletics Indoor Championship medal. [17]

She finished second in the 100 metres at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon in a time of 10.93 seconds. [18] Alfred ran a lifetime best and equalled the stadium record in the women's 100 metres at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston, Jamaica on 1 June 2024, running 10.78 seconds. [19] On 12 July 2024, she won the 100 metres in 10.85 seconds at the 2024 Herculis Diamond League event in Monaco. [20] Alfred set a new national 200m record of 21.86 seconds as she finished second behind Gabrielle Thomas at the Diamond League meeting in London on 20 July. [21]

She won gold in the women's 100 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with a national record time of 10.72 seconds, which earned Saint Lucia its first-ever Olympic medal. [22] She also secured a silver medal in the 200 metres with a time of 22.08 seconds, finishing behind Gabrielle Thomas. [23]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing Flag of Saint Lucia.svg  Saint Lucia
YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventResult
2016 CARIFTA Games, U18 events St. George's, Grenada5th 100 m 11.90
5th (h3) 200 m 25.34
2017 Commonwealth Youth Games Nassau, Bahamas1st 100 m 11.56
2018 CARIFTA Games, U20 events Nassau, Bahamas5th 100 m 11.68
Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires, Argentina2nd 100 m ev. 23.22
2022 Caribbean Games, U23 events Basse-Terre, France1st100 m11.07
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States– (sf) 100 m DQ
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, England2nd 100 m 11.01
– 200 m DNS
2023 Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador, El Salvador1st 100 m 11.14
World Championships Budapest, Hungary 5th 100 m 10.93
4th 200 m 22.05
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, Scotland1st 60 m 6.98
Olympic Games Paris, France1st 100 m 10.72 NR
2nd 200 m 22.08

NCAA titles

Recognition

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">200 metres</span> Sprint running event

The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games. The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes predominantly rely on anaerobic energy system during the 200 m sprint. Similarly to other sprint distances, the 200 m begins from the starting blocks. When the sprinters adopt the 'set' position in the blocks they are able to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles. This enables them to stride forwards more powerfully when the race begins and start faster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabrielle Thomas</span> American sprinter (born 1996)

Gabrielle Lisa Thomas is an American track and field athlete specializing in 100 and 200 meter sprint who is the 2024 200m Olympic champion. Born in Georgia and raised in Massachusetts, Thomas competed in college for Harvard University before beginning a professional track career in 2018. Thomas also has a master of public health degree in epidemiology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dafne Schippers</span> Dutch track and field athlete

Dafne Schippers is a Dutch retired track and field athlete who competed in sprinting and the combined events. She holds the European record in the 200 metres with a time of 21.63 seconds, making her the sixth-fastest woman of all time at this distance. She also holds the Dutch records in the 100 metres and long jump, and shares the Dutch records in the 60 metres indoor and 4 × 100 metres relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dina Asher-Smith</span> British sprinter (born 1995)

Geraldina Rachel Asher-Smith is a British sprinter internationally active since 2011. In 2019 she was the first British woman to win a World title in a sprint event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ewa Swoboda</span> Polish sprinter (born 1997)

Ewa Nikola Swoboda is a Polish track and field sprinter who specialises in the short sprints. She is a three-time European Indoor Championships medallist in the 60 metres, having won the gold medal in 2019 and silvers in 2017 and 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Thompson-Herah</span> Jamaican sprinter (born 1992)

Elaine Thompson-Herah is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres. Regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, she is a five-time Olympic champion, the fastest woman alive in the 100 m, and the third fastest ever in the 200 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shericka Jackson</span> Jamaican sprinter

Shericka Jackson is a Jamaican sprinter competing in the 60 m, 100 m, 200 m, and 400 metres. In the 100 m, she’s the fifth fastest woman of all time, while in the 200 m, she’s the second fastest woman in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Coleman</span> American sprinter (born 1996)

Christian Coleman is an American professional track and field sprinter who competes in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. The 2019 world champion in the 100 meters, he also won gold as part of men's 4 × 100-meter relay. He holds personal bests of 9.76 seconds for the 100 m, which made him the 6th fastest all-time in the history of 100 metres event, and 19.85 for the 200 m. Coleman is the world record holder for the indoor 60 meters with 6.34 seconds. He was the Diamond League champion in 2018 and 2023 and the world number one ranked runner in the men's 100 m for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryll Neita</span> British sprinter (born 1996)

Daryll Saskia Neita is a British sprinter. She won a silver medal in the 200 metres at the 2024 European Championships along with bronze in the 100 metres at the 2022 European Championships, 2022 Commonwealth Games and in the 60 metres at the 2023 European Indoor Championships. She has also won several medals as part of Great Britain 4 × 100 m relay teams, including an Olympic silver medal in 2024 and bronze medals in 2016 and 2021, World Championships silver medals in 2017 and 2019 and European gold in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Kerley</span> American sprinter (born 1995)

Fredrick Lee Kerley is an American track and field sprinter. He was the Olympic silver medalist over 100 m at the 2020 Olympics and bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics in the same event. Kerley has earned an additional six medals at the World Championships, most notably 100m gold at the 2022 edition. He has also medalled in the 400m, 4 x 100m relay, and 4 × 400 m relay and won eleven Diamond League races, including two Diamond League finals - the 400m in 2018 and the 100m in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhasidat Adeleke</span> Irish sprinter (born 2002)

Rhasidat Adeleke is an Irish sprinter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Boling</span> American track and field athlete (born 2000)

Matthew Boling is an American track and field athlete specializing in the sprints and long jump. He won four gold medals at the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m relay and 4 × 400 m relay, and helped set world under-20 records in both of the relay races for the United States. He also ran in the semi-final for the American 4 × 400 m relay team at the 2018 World U20 Championships that went on to earn silver in the final. Boling would later go on to win a gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the mixed 4 x 400 m relay, and would help set a world record for the event in the process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sha'Carri Richardson</span> American sprinter (born 2000)

Sha'Carri Richardson is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters and 200 meters races. Richardson rose to fame in 2019 as a freshman at Louisiana State University, running 10.75 seconds to break the 100 m collegiate record at the NCAA Division I Championships. This winning time made her one of the ten fastest women in history at 19 years old.

Favour Chukwuka Ofili is a Nigerian track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100 meters relay races. Ofili made her Olympic debut for women’s 200m on 4th August, 2024 at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. In 200m, She remains in top 3 overall for both preliminary and semi-final rounds, finishes 6th in her Olympic-Final debut as a first-time Olympian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany Brown (sprinter)</span> American sprinter (born 1995)

Brittany Brown is an American sprinter. She won the silver medal at the 2019 World Championships in the 200 m event and the bronze medal in the 200 m event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lieke Klaver</span> Dutch sprinter

Lieke Klaver is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in sprinting. She specializes in the 200 metres and in the 400 metres. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team. She won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 x 400 metres relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyréna Samba-Mayela</span> French athlete (born 2000)

Cyréna Samba-Mayela is a French athlete who competes in the 60 metres hurdles and 100 metres hurdles. She won the gold medal in the 60 m hurdles at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, a silver medal at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships where she lowered the current French national record to 7.73 seconds, and the gold medal at the 2024 European Athletics Championships, where she established a new personal best, national record and championship record at 12.31 seconds. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Samba-Mayela won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delphine Nkansa</span> Belgian athlete (born 2001)

Delphine Nkansa is a Belgian athlete. She was the Belgian national champion over 200m in 2022 and the European Under-23 champion over that same distance in 2023.

Jacious Sears is an American track and field athlete who competes as a sprinter.

The women's 100 metres at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in four rounds at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on 2 and 3 August 2024. This was the twenty-third time that the women's 100 metres has been contested at the Summer Olympics. A total of 40 athletes qualified for the event by entry standard or ranking. Julien Alfred won Saint Lucia's first-ever Olympic medal after taking gold in the final.

References

  1. ↑ "ALFRED Julien". Paris 2024 Olympics . Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "How Julien Alfred went from running barefoot in St. Lucia to the fastest woman in the world".
  3. ↑ "Track & Field - Julien Alfred". Texas Longhorns . Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "Athletics Dominate Sports Awards". The Voice Newspaper. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Julien Alfred Clocks 7.04 the Fastest 60m Time in Collegiate History at NCAA Championships". watchathletics.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "2022 Big 12 Championships Results". Big 12 Championships. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Texas' Julien Alfred wins NCAA women's 100-meter title; Longhorns capture 4x100-meter relay". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  8. ↑ "2022 Caribbean Games Track and Field Results". Caribbean Games. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Weekend Recap: All-Time Marks Canvas Conference Championships Weekend". USTFCCCA . 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  10. 1 2 Smythe, Steve (14 March 2023). "Stunning NCAA sprint double for Julien Alfred - overseas results round-up". AW . Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Alfred, Garland and Wilson threaten world records at NCAA Indoor Championships". World Athletics . 12 March 2023. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Bregman, Scott (18 July 2023). "Julien Alfred bests Sha'Carri Richardson in women's 100m, Erriyon Knighton finishes second in men's 200m at Istvan Gyulai Memorial". International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  13. 1 2 "TCU's Duggan, UT's Alfred Named 2022-23 Big 12 Athletes of the Year" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Women's 100m Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "Women's 200m Results: World Athletics Championships 2023". Watch Athletics. 23 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "Women's 60m Results - World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  17. ↑ "Alfred wins historic 60m gold for Saint Lucia". BBC Sport. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  18. ↑ "2024 Prefontaine Classic: Sha'Carri Richardson Wins Big, Joe Kovacs Throws Far and Keely Hodgkinson Crushes Mary Moraa". Lets Run. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  19. ↑ "Alfred equals stadium record in women's 100m". Jamaica Gleaner. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  20. ↑ Poole, Harry (12 July 2024). "Pattison goes second on British 800m all-time list". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "GABRIELLE THOMAS COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN WOMEN'S 200M AT 2024 LONDON DIAMOND LEAGUE". olympics.com. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Alfred storms to Olympic 100m gold in Paris". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  23. ↑ "Women's 200m Final - Athletics". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  24. ↑ "Julien Alfred, Texas: 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track & Field National Track Athlete of the Year". USTFCCCA . Retrieved 1 April 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.