Julien Alfred: the making of the world’s fastest woman Premium

Julien Alfred's journey from barefoot runner to Olympic champion, making history for St. Lucia with her speed and determination.

Last Saturday in Paris, Julien Alfred woke up early to jot her thoughts down in her journal. It’s a routine she usually follows on race days to help clear her mind and sharpen her focus. 

But this was like no other race day the 23-year-old sprinter from St. Lucia had experienced until then. She kept it simple. “I wrote down, ‘Julien Alfred: Olympic champion,’” she said.

That done, Alfred spent the rest of her morning watching footage of retired Jamaican great Usain Bolt, the fastest sprinter of all time. “I just watched how he just executed,” she said.

By the evening, Alfred had catapulted herself into her country’s own pantheon of greats. She stunned US favourite Sha’Carri Richardson to win the women’s 100m gold, etching her name into history by claiming the Caribbean island nation’s first ever medal at the Olympics.

Alfred — who had never finished on the podium at a major outdoor championships prior to last weekend’s final — conjured up a superb race to win in 10.72s, as Richardson took silver in 10.87s and Melissa Jefferson clinched bronze in 10.92s.

The powerfully built Alfred led from start to finish, exploding out of the blocks and romping through the puddles at a rainswept Stade de France. Her margin of victory — 0.15 seconds — was the biggest in the Olympic 100m since 2008. None of the other finalists matched Alfred’s top speed of 41.04 kmph, with the fancied Richardson coming the closest (40.52kmph).

Alfred recovered sufficiently to win the 200m silver three days after her history-making run, doubling her Olympic medal collection and proving again that she is among the world’s best.