On August 3 this year, the track and field realm had an opportunity to see something unbelievable. In the iconic Stade de France, Sha’Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred were about to face each other in the women’s 100m final. Before moving to the Parisian Olympics, the duo had several occasions to match up against each other. But the August night was special. It was their first face-off in the Olympics. Moreover, it had the favorites who were born in or after 2000. In that bunch, Sha’Carri and Julien were prominent. And there was another similarity between the duo. 

Sha’Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred were on their redemption tour at the Paris Olympics. The US sprinter had to prove herself. She had to project herself as someone bigger than her fiasco at the timeline of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. For Julien, it was about fulfilling someone’s dream and proving herself as the rightful successor of great athletes. In the end, the St. Lucian won the race, making a national record. Yet the victory gave birth to different emotions in her. Like how?

In her conversation with Harry Poole of BBC Sports, Julien Alfred reveals the emotions she felt four months ago. “I cried. I bawled my eyes out,” she said. Landing victory on a stage like the Olympics could bring such emotions out. Did she feel the same kind of storm inside her? Or was there something different? Indeed, it was different for the 23-year-old athlete. 

It was all about Julien’s father, Julian. 11 years ago, she had to say goodbye to her late father. Since then, Alfred has been missing her biggest support on her road to achieving glory in track sports. Eventually, the pain of missing her dad covered her that night in Stade de France. On August 3, Julian defeated a world of her opponents, critics, naysayers, and shortcomings. But she didn’t have her father alongside her to pat on her back. In her interaction with BBC, she recalled that moment. 

This time, Julian remained true to her emotions. She didn’t care about the critics or their probable reactions. Instead, she decided to reveal. “Just seeing how far I’ve come, but my dad not being there to see me accomplish it. It did hurt me that he was not with me,” Sha’Carri Richardson’s nemesis said in a heavy tone. Indeed, the emotions were bound to take over. No one except Julien Alfred herself could have believed watching Sha’Carri Richardson go down and the St. Lucian rise. Since the beginning of the season, the latter had been hearing the ‘underdog’ tag. 

Nonetheless, Julien knew that if her father had been alive, he would have cheered for her. She could have gained further motivation. Since 2013, she has been engaged to fulfill one target: she had to be among the greatest on the track. Her father had believed in her. In her conversation with the Sunday Times, Julien once said, “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.’ In Paris, Alfred became the ‘fastest’ that day. But she had to do it in the mortal absence of her father. But what about Sha’Carri Richardson’s redemption? 

Sha’Carri Richardson settles her score against everything 

On August 3, Sha’Carri Richardson had to see someone taking the top spot and the headlines. She failed her chance to fulfill her redemption. In last year’s World Athletics Championships, SCR won the 100m contest against names like Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson. In the 200m event, she claimed the bronze medal. But were those enough to fill up to bring back the glory she had lost after the US Olympic trials event in 2021? The incidents that once made her post, “I am human,” to stop the backlash! No, certainly not. 

Only the gold medal in the 100m event could settle the score. But Sha’Carri Richardson lost her turn. She came back though. In the 4x100m relay race, her performance in the anchor leg helped Team USA sweep the gold. She stopped the external voices to some extent, achieving the title. But what about the score against Julien Alfred? In the Zurich Diamond League, she had her chance. 

In the 100-meter final in the Swiss capital, Sha’Carri put every ounce of her ability into the final 20 meters. The extraordinary pace helped her claim the top spot. Julien, on the other hand, stopped in the second position. The fame was regained to some extent, and the redemption was fulfilled. But what about the next chapter of these two women’s emotional affairs? Do you have any idea about this?