Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred clinches silver at Prefontaine Classic

Saint Lucia: Julien Alfred missed the gold medal with a mere difference of 0.02 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic held in Oregon on Saturday. The Olympic gold medalist was outshined by her Olympic rival Melissa Jefferson-Wooden who secured the first position by clocking 10.77 seconds.  

In the women’s 100m race Julien Alfred delivered an outstanding performance to which she has been immensely lauded on social media. The third position was notably secured by Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith of Côte d'Ivoire.  

This event at the Prefontaine Classic was one of the most hyped and awaited events at the competition as it brought together the three Paris Olympics top position holder to the event for the first time in history.  

Out of the three Melissa and Julien secured the top positions once again, but Sha’Carri Richardson from USA who gave tough competition to Julien in the Olympics ended last in the Women’s 100m event. This was shocking as Richardson’s performance was not what her fans expected her to perform at the international track.  

Following Julien Alfred's win at the Olympics, she has been receiving a lot of appreciation from locals and leaders on social media. The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Philip J Pierre while extending his wishes said Saint Lucia is proud of her.  

“Congratulations Ms. Julien Alfred on your superb run at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon! We are proud of you,” said PM Pierre.  

Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire wrote, “Exceptional performance by our Saint Lucian ambassador Julien Alfred. You've maintained a remarkable performance for the last year showing you truly deserve that number one spot.” 

Apart from the leaders, locals are also extending their wishes through social media and wishing the athlete success in future.  

A user named Jeanne Joseph wrote, “Congratulations Juju, we take that second place with a deep sense of pride because Juju did it! St Lucia thanks you.” 

Another user named Sherwin Stuart said, “This athlete is awesome. I recall when athletes from the smaller nations in the Caribbean were like an enigma. Now they are performing at the highest level especially in the sprints (male and female). Unfortunately, the Bahamas is not in the mix.” 

“Congratulations to you and to St. Lucia. It was all about good execution. Well done JuJu and your hard-working team,” wrote another user on Facebook.