Julien Alfred makes history, wins Saint Lucia’s first ever gold in Olympics

The sprint queen of Saint Lucia, Julien Alfred won the gold medal in the category of women’s 100 m finals at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.  

She ran a time of 10.72 seconds, making a new national record and grabbing the country’s first Olympic medal in any sport since Saint Lucia’s debut in 1966.  

According to the information, Alfred won semifinal 2 earlier during the day, while beating her contender, Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S. During this, Alfred ran in a time of 10.84 seconds, while Richardson came in second with 10.89 seconds. 

During the finals, the Saint Lucian athlete led the pack throughout the race, finishing strong ahead of her contenders. USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson finished in 10.87 seconds for second place while Melissa Jefferson, also from USA, placed third in 10.92 seconds.  

With this historic win at the Olympics now in her arsenal, the 23-year-old will now be continuing her medal count in the women’s 200m.  

Following the victory, Julien Alfred was seen holding the Saint Lucia’s flag with pride and having a big smile on her face and breaking down in tears as if she has achieved the world.  

The athlete remarked, “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. We barely have the right facilities. The stadium is not fixed.” 

She further added, “I hope this gold medal will help St. Lucia build a new stadium, to help the sport grow.” 

Alfred also got emotional and said that she is about to cry as she has been trying to stay strong as much as possible and this achievement means a lot to her, her coach and her country.  

The victory also created a wave of happiness among the citizens and residents of Saint Lucia who were seen shouting, dancing and cheering for her as they watched her making history at a big screen in the middle of the street.  

Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Philip J Pierre also expressed his happiness over the development saying that it is a happy day for the OECS Member states.  

Through a Facebook post, he congratulated her and Dominica’s Thea Lafond who also won first ever gold medal for her country. 

PM Pierre said, “Today is great day for OECS member states and the people of the Caribbean! In one day Saint Lucia and Dominica have created history by winning our first Olympic medal and bringing home the GOLD.” 

“Congratulations to Saint Lucia’s very own, Julien Alfred for winning gold in the Women’s 100m, 10.72s and Thea Lafond of Dominica for bringing home the gold in the Women’s Triple Jump 15.02m,” added the PM.  

Not only this, but the social media was also flooded with congratulatory messages for Julien Alfred with people saying that the small island nation’s girl has made history.  

A user named Ny Law noted, “The Caribbean is on fire. We love it. Congratulations St. Lucia on your gold medal. Well done,” while another said, “History made as Juien Alfred gets first ever medal, let alone GOLD Medal for her Island Country of +180,000 inhabitants ST. LUCIA. She is the fastest woman in the world.”