Julien Alfred’s Olympic gold (in 100m) and silver (in 200m) were not just the first medals of the tiny Caribbean nation of St. Lucia. For them, it is no less than a revolution. The nation that did not even have a separate tent for its athletes to have some refreshment beside the track, suddenly shot to utmost fame. No wonder, her country honored her by marking September 27 as ‘Julien Alfred Day’. But with such an effort how can honors be limited to the homeland only?

On October 30, Alfred took home the Prestigious Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) award for female athlete of Paris 2024 alongside her male counterpart Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. “It is a very well-deserved award for an athlete who has had an incredible season and who made us vibrate in the sprint events at the last Olympic Games in Paris 2024. I congratulate Julien, her entire team and of course the St. Lucia Olympic Committee,” Panam Sports President Neven Ilic said. But the award spree might not end soon.

Alfred is on the run for one for a coveted title next month. And the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) president Keith Joseph also believes Alfred is a strong contender for it as he made a strong case for why she deserves to win.

Julien is among the finalists for the World Athletics Female Track Athlete of the Year Award. The yearly award honors the most standout athletes for a season. The winners for this year will be released on December 1. Ahead of that, SportsMax reported about the support the CANOC president extended to Alfred

Joseph said, “For the very first time in decades, a Caribbean athlete, not from any of the larger islands and with a population of less than 150,000, is among the finalists. We are here referring to St Lucia’s track and field gem, Julien Alfred… who has literally stormed into the sporting history of her native land,” He highlighted how the success has put Saint Lucia on the map in a way that hasn’t been seen in years.

Joseph further traced Julien’s incredible journey, recalling her early promise in athletics and the triumphs that led to her place on the world stage. Joseph also expressed that Julien’s achievements represent more than just personal success; they impact Caribbean athletes on the global stage. Now at the World Athlete of Year award, she is pitted against the American powerhouses and Olympic champions Sydney McLaughlin-Lerone and Gabby Thomas among others. But Joseph is confident.

“We are generally considered small, even micro in some cases, but we are aware of which nations in our midst are the smallest and the very special challenges they face,” Joseph added. Indeed, challenges are at times out-of-nowhere. Look what happened at the Paris Olympics.

Netflix’s SPRINT Part-II has brought forward the incident that took place just because Alfred hails from a small country. The Olympian’s coach Edrick Floreal, revealed the tent incident in Paris. “There’s another tent for everybody to go chill in?” asked Coach Flo.

Alfred stated that while the Paris authorities had arranged the tents, that was not for every country. “I think so, but I dunno St. Lucia has one specifically,” guessed the sprinter, while her coach pointed out that only the countries with massive athlete pools have their dedicated tents near the track. “The big countries have one,” said Coach Floréal.

“Then there’s one for the other small countries to share,” he said in Episode 3 of the Netflix docuseries. It also documented how Alfred’s manager Henry Rolle had to make calls to find which tent she could use. “Let’s for a man about their setup, cause they supposed to have a place for St. Lucia,” Rolle said during episode three. Understandably, when the golden glory came after such unprecedented hurdles, Alfred’s countrymen’s joy knew no bound as they sat some 4000 miles away from Paris.

Fans packed a park in Castries, Saint Lucia, and watched Alfred run her race on a big screen. As she pulled off the win in 100m clocking 10.72s, the celebration in the tiny island nation’s capital city absolutely erupted. As she returned home September 24, she was given a hero’s honor with loud cheers and Calypso music. Prime Minister of the Caribbean nation, Philip J. Pierre himself was present at the Hewanorra International Airport.

“I have dreamt of this day for such a long time—just being an inspiration to the youth of St Lucia, wanting to give back and wanting to inspire them so we can have many more Levern Spencers and many more Daren Sammys and many more like myself,” Alfred said on arrival an event that was relayed live on the Saint Lucia government Facebook page. If fact, Millenium Highway, the kilometre-long road that winds along the northwest of the island, was also named after Alfred. But behind all the honor lies the story of sacrifice and hardship.

Overcoming obstacles Julien Alfred wants St. Lucia to carry the momentum on

While Alfred is clearly proud of her against-all-odds Olympic gold, it is her time spent in the USA and Jamaica as a teenage trainee that formed her into the athlete she is today. “One of the reasons I went to Jamaica was because of the sprint culture,” she said. “You know, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt, Elaine Thompson-Herah, all these amazing athletes. Wanting to be a part of that culture.”

“And when you hear Jamaica, you know about sprinting, the top athletes. So I made a decision along with my childhood coach and my mum for me to go to Jamaica, to come to train and continue my career in track & field,” Alfred added. So the outcomes of her labour are also the result of real sacrifice.

She left her friends, family, and her beloved home island to run after a far-off dream took courage which paid her off in the long run. “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,” Alfred had said. But that was not the only hardship she faced.

“My dad passing away in 2013. I actually stopped track & field during that time, just grieving for him,” Alfred replied when asked about the biggest challenge she has faced in her career to date. “And injuries. Injuries have definitely affected my journey as well. But I mean, it made me stronger. There have been so many things that I can’t pick one but I think all those challenges that I’ve been through have prepared me for what’s to come in my life,” she further added. After going through it all, Alfred has a wish for the greater good.

“I’m really hoping that we can get a new stadium. I’m really hoping that we can help the youth in the country believe that they can get out of the ghetto, help them believe that they can make it here. We can come from a small place but also be on the biggest stage,” she said. If St. Lucia can take make it happen, that might be the greater win that Alfred will bring to her country.