People were sure Sha’Carri Richardson would win the gold in the women’s 100m in Paris. They just knew it. But as the women blazed through the purple track, the winner was someone unexpected. The American’s ambitions were torn when Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred delivered a stunning performance with her 10.72 seconds. Richardson’s 10.87 earned her a silver. But what gave Alfred an edge over everyone else?

In a new interview on August 18, the athlete shared her mental preparations for the Games. “Whatever goes on around me does not worry me or make me nervous,” Alfred shared. This is important. Why?

Let us not forget how people were rallying behind Richardson to win the gold. Richardson’s presence did not faze her, nor did the rains in Paris.

“Even though I am shy when talking to a bunch of people, when I am on the track I just focus on my start and execution rather than the lanes around me. We had been visualising that race every practice and I was not going to sell myself short. I was there to win,” Alfred told The Times.

It seems to have worked well for her. She made history for her country by winning their first-ever Olympic medal. The journey was not easy but was filled with sacrifice, tears, and loneliness. As a 14-year-old, she went to Jamaica alone to further her dreams of becoming a track and field Olympian, as St. Lucia didn’t have the facilities needed.

These experiences are the core aspects of who she is. No wonder she wasn’t intimidated by the big names she was competing against.

Polite. Humble. Thoughtful.
That’s how people who know her describe her.

“I can’t be the person who is cocky. I’m somebody who is almost silent. I let my performances speak for themselves,” she said in the interview. On the same note, she has a belief in the divine. Her Instagram account references Romans 8:18- Sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Julien Alfred: The men behind her Olympic success!

Alfred’s winning mentality and confidence were nurtured by her father, Julian Hamilton. His passing away in 2013 was one of the biggest setbacks in Alfred’s life; she almost quit the sport.

But after her success, Alfred revealed, “He always believed in me and wanted me to be an Olympian, so whenever I achieve something it’s always emotional. He would be proud of me because he was quite boastful and always said, ‘My daughter is the fastest.’”

However, he wasn’t the old man behind her victory. Her childhood coach, Simeon Stephen, supported her after her father’s death. He helped her start running again. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. Julian Hamilton and Simeon Stephen weren’t there to see Julien Alfred create history. But the rest of her family was.

Her mother, brother, sister, partner, and best friend were all in Paris to support her.

On the other hand, Alfred’s success crushed Richardson’s dreams of winning the Olympic gold. Not only that, people had high expectations from the American sprinter; So high that winning an Olympic silver- a huge feat in itself- was recorded as a defeat.

The 24-year-old’s start was not the best, and though she ran with all her might to rectify her slow start, it just wasn’t enough for her to reach the finish line before Alfred. Regardless, she still walked away with a gold medal for the Women’s 4x100m Relay and a silver in the 100m.