Julien Alfred once said, “I’ve always wanted to be Usain Bolt, ever since I was little.” And at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she did exactly that! She ran the 100m, clocking 10.72, which is a national record! Much like Bolt, Julien now wears the heaviest crown of them all. Julien won the crown crossing the finish line in Stade de France, right before Sha’Carri Richardson, the athlete the world predicted would win!

Well, good luck next time, Richardson; for this time, it is all about Julien Alfred. However, interestingly, one of the biggest names of track & field was missing from Paris. Shericka Jackson, who was expected to run the 100m and 200m, did not do so due to health reasons. This meant one of Julien’s biggest competitions was missing. Nevertheless, the sprint was simply iconic. And to make it even better, it turns out that Julien doesn’t sprint to beat her competition. In fact, it doesn’t bother her at all!

Julien Alfred’s sprints for a bigger cause!

Well, it turns out Julien doesn’t run for the Julien Alfred name to be known. But for Saint Lucia’s name to be heard! St. Lucia is a “very small” town located in the Caribbean Islands. The region is full of volcanoes and unfortunate financial issues. But as Julien puts it, it is “the only country named after a woman in the world.” While her homeland may be the first named after a woman, Julien Alfred is the first to bring Olympic gold to the country! And that’s precisely why she sprints.

As Julien herself puts it, “For me, it’s just getting to the point that I want to get to, working hard towards that, putting my country on the map, proving to myself that I belong among the great athletes.” And the 2024 season has been a year of proving the same! She started the year at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships. Here she went on to clock 6.98 in the 60-meter race and win gold. This was St. Lucia’s first indoor win. While St. Lucia is the cause she runs for, her motivation to run is completely different!

“My motivation is to be the best in the world, to be my best self, the best athlete I can be, and to prove to myself that I belong here,” added Julien. And no doubt, she is on her way to being the greatest. Let’s look at 2024 pre-Paris! After the indoor wins, she went into the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. In Eugene, Julien ran the 100-meter race and went on to clock 10.93. But that’s not all!

Post this, Julien Alfred broke the 200m national record at the Diamond League London meet, clocking 21.86. And then, of course, came the moments of Olympic glory. But gold is not all that she won in Paris. Julien also went on to win a silver in the 200m, clocking 22.08. While 2024 has been exciting, it turns out that the homeland Julien Alfred runs for was, in fact, not the most peaceful of places!

Growing up in St. Lucia was about thriving amidst turmoil!

Julien Alfred might run for her country, but there was a time when she had to run from it to chase her dream. In an episode of the Netflix documentary Sprint, she went on to recall her childhood. “We grew up in poverty,” she said. Her early years were unfortunate ones, often defined by limitations and barefoot runs across fields. Additionally, St. Lucia lacked proper sporting facilities and a supportive track scene, making things much harder for Julien. But there was something more, too!

As Julien herself puts it, “There would be gunshots throughout the night. It was a very rough community.” But this atmosphere of turmoil built her resilience. Today, she stands proud, representing St. Lucia as an Olympic gold medalist. And her homeland sees it too, and boy-oh-boy, are they proud! So much so that Julien for a hero’s welcome coming back home. Any guesses on what awaited her?

The Saint Lucian government declared September 27, 2024, as “Julien Alfred Day.” As if that wasn’t enough, they are renaming the Millennium Highway in her honor. Talk about a homecoming to remember! Julien, regardless of those standing next to her on track, will sprint for the legacy of St. Lucia. And there are no two ways about it! May it be Sha’Carri Richardson or Shericka Jackson in the competition, the girl who ran barefoot through fields will continue her sprint toward being a global icon. And this is just the beginning of her story!