Julien Alfred transformed 2024 into a year of greatness. She catapulted into Olympic glory in perhaps one of the most iconic races. But right before the Olympics, she had written history at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships. Julien went on to win gold in the 60m, clocking 6.98 and winning Saint Lucia’s first-ever indoor medal. Then, she also went on to win 100m in 10.85 seconds at the Herculis Diamond League in Monaco and set a Saint Lucian 200m record of 21.86 seconds in London. And then came the 2024 Paris Olympics!

Remember the 2024 Paris Olympics 100m moment? She went on to win the gold, clocking 10.72, a national record time! This was also the first Olympic medal that Saint Lucia won. While her journey on track has been brilliant, it turns out her journey to the Olympic track was anything but easy! Recently, Netflix came out with its second season of Sprint. And it features Julien Alfred! In one of the episodes, Julien goes on to talk about her rather unfortunate childhood!

Julien Alfred, on navigating the unexpected volcanoes of life!

In episode five of Netflix’s Sprint, Julien Alfred spoke about the “only country named after a woman in the world” and her hometown, St. Lucia. She describes the town as “very small” but built on the roots of resilience. However, it was not a quiet or easy town to grow up in. “I grew up in poverty,” said Julien, talking about her time when she used to run barefoot through fields. While poverty dealt her a tough card on one side, she was dealing with something worse on the other.

As Julien herself puts it, “There would be gunshots throughout the night. It was a very rough community, a rough childhood.” Not just in terms of the country’s historical and political landscape but also in terms of sports facilities. St Lucia, as Julien remembers, did not have any stadiums or places to truly train! But despite it all, as Julien puts it, “I just thought I could use my talent to get out of the ghetto.” But then came the unfortunate moment in her life when she turned 12!

When Julien was just 12, her dad passed away. And at this point, “I actually stopped track & field during that time, just grieving for him,” Julien recalled previously. However, there was one man who saw her potential in sprinting and pulled her right back up! Her physical education teacher, Simeon Stephen, is at Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School. So, how exactly did he help?

The sprinting harbinger that Julien Alfred needed!

Simeon Stephen saw a sprinting fire in her long before the world did. Stephen went on to remind her of the mental aspect that she needed to build. In fact, during a tough period when Julien Alfred couldn’t afford shoes and had to make do with those from her senior, Stephen came to the rescue. Julien was all set to join an athletics club run by a former athlete, Cuthbert Modeste, but did not own a pair of shoes.

Stephen helped her and gave Julien her first pair of proper shoes. His influence doesn’t stop there. He encouraged her to apply for a scholarship at St. Catherine High School in Kingston, Jamaica, where she later went on to train under former athlete Marlon Jones.  Come 2015, Julien left her hero, Usain Bolt’s home behind, too!

Recalling the same, she said, “The sacrifice to leave my family at a tender age, the age of 14, to just chase my dreams, it was definitely a tough decision for me.” But two years after leaving, she moved to Texas and began to train under Edrick Floréal. And the rest, as they say, is history.

“He’s been like a dad, a mentor and a coach,” Alfred told Olympics.com about Stephen. “I think at this level sometimes there can be so much pressure and I really appreciate all that he has done, not just from a coaching standpoint, but also just being a human like I am. He’s seen me as a human and not just an athlete,” she further added.

On the other hand, Floreal has also been wowed by how Alfred adjusted from the junior to the senior ranks. “She’s fantastic,” he said. “It’s a difficult adjustment that a lot of kids are not able to do; there’s a lot of people pulling at you.”

Today, Julien Alfred is a global name in the world of sprinting. She has two Olympic medals, a Diamond League Gold, a world indoor championship title, and multiple NCAA titles! So what’s next for Julien? As she sees it, “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. That’s my source of motivation.” Julien Alfred’s story has only just begun; the world will have to watch for more miraculous sprints!