Gabby Thomas came into the Paris Olympics with one goal. Well, two goals: one, to win the gold in the 200m, and two, to break Flo-Jo’s 21.34-second record from 1988. Thomas achieved one of them and came pretty close to achieving the other, winning the sprint with a time of 21.83 seconds. Not to mention, she finished almost two full strides ahead of Julien Alfred (22.08 seconds). But could it have all come down to a scheduling mistake the organizers made?

Track and field legend Justin Gatlin sure believes that was a factor. Just three days before Gabby Thomas won her first Olympic gold, Julien Alfred won St. Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medal. Defeating the favorite Sha’Carri Richardson, Alfred stormed to the gold with a time of 10.72 seconds. This was the same day as the semifinal, just a day after the heats on August 2. So, let’s do the math.

The St. Lucian’s campaign started on August 2; she ran the 100m final on August 3 and won silver in the 200m on August 6. Taking the 200m heats and semifinal into account, Julien Alfred competed for five consecutive days without a break. And this is precisely what Justin Gatlin pointed out. On the Ready Set Go podcast, the 100m gold medalist from the Athens Games said, “Julien, I understand you’re tired. You did an amazing job to be able to get that silver medal in that 200m… I personally understand the toll it takes physically and mentally.” This was where Gatlin outlined the bias in scheduling.

He questioned, “Why did the women get less time to prepare from the 100m to the 200m when the men had a day off to rest their bodies and run a little fresher than the women did? I feel like that was an unfair advantage in a lot of ways.” The 200m was Gabby Thomas’ first event at the Paris Olympics. Yes, she participated in the 4x100m and 4x400m finals, too, but those were after her main event. Because of this, the American came into the 200m event without any residual fatigue, unlike Julien Alfred, which may have given Thomas an advantage over her closest competitor.

As for the men’s events, the 100m final was on August 4. While the 200m heats were on August 5, the athletes had a day’s break before the semifinal. Gatlin didn’t appreciate this disparity, adding, “When you’re doubling, regardless of at the World championships or Olympics, it’s a hard feat to do.” The legend is no stranger to running both the 100m and 200m in quick succession. In fact, he’s competed and won in both on the same day, too! It happened on September 5, 2014, at the Diamond League in Brussels.

Although the stakes wouldn’t have been as high as they were for Julien Alfred at the Olympics, the mental and physical toll would’ve been just as much. Gatlin explained what makes doubling so difficult and what Alfred’s schedule must’ve looked like following her 100m victory. First, the press conference. Next, drug tests and having to eat, followed by body therapy to ensure she’d be ready for the 200m the next day. As a result, Alfred may have had to stay awake till 1 AM, which may not have been nearly enough time for her body to rest and recover.

“Then, you gotta go the day after that to run the [heats], and then the day after that to run the [semis and] finals. So, those six days back to back was going to be a task for anybody.” It’s a valid point, as it is a hectic task for any athlete to do that and perform well. This is why he praised Julien Alfred for performing despite all of this and making it to the podium in 100m and 200m. His co-host, Rodney Green, also talked about how the magnificent light show was only present before the 100m final for men but not for women.

Gatlin agreed, asking why the women couldn’t have that. “Everyone has worked hard to get to that final. We understand that some events might be a little more popular than others. But the fact is, people are watching; those stands are full. If you want to make the Olympics or track and field exciting, do it.” All these are valid points and could potentially add to the controversies surrounding the Paris Olympics, which started right from Day 1. But as for the St. Lucia native…

Julien Alfred dominated despite getting just “two hours” of sleep

On Saturday morning, the day of the 100m final, Julien Alfred woke up to jot down her thoughts in her journal. “I wrote down, ‘Julien Alfred: Olympic champion,’” the 23-year-old said. Then, she watched footage of Usain Bolt’s historic 100m sprints to see how he executed them. And that night, Alfred carried out her execution to perfection.

Taking the top prize in the 100m by more than a tenth of a second, compared to Sha’Carri Richardson’s 10.87-second dash, Alfred said, “It means a lot to me. I definitely knew that St. Luciens would be watching and hoping that they could get their first Olympic medal. I’m sure they’re celebrating right now.” However, she knew she didn’t have much time to celebrate and that Sunday morning would be very different from Saturday morning – owing to the 200m heats.

After fulfilling media obligations past 11 PM on Saturday night, she was back inside Stade de France at 10:55 AM the following morning, welcomed by a roaring ovation. As she passed reporters, they asked her how much sleep she’d gotten. The St. Lucian replied, “Two hours.” But that didn’t seem to affect her much because a few minutes later, when she lined up for the 200m heats and waited for the gun to go off, Alfred cruised to victory, finishing the dash in 22.41 seconds, more than three-tenths ahead of France’s Gemima Joseph.

While she did get more than a full day’s rest before the semifinal on Monday night, Justin Gatlin still felt the scheduling should’ve been better. Who knows? If Julien Alfred had gotten that extra day of rest before the heats, she may have finished closer to Gabby Thomas in Tuesday’s final. Or, just maybe, she could’ve made it a sprint double at the Olympics, etching her name among the elusive list of athletes to have achieved that feat. What do you think?