Saint Lucian aiming for Olympic podium

St Lucian track and field star Julien Alfred delivered a personal best of 10.78 to win the Racers Grand Prix on Saturday, June 1, 2024.

Jamaica’s Krystal Sloley finished second in her personal best time of 10.99.

Alfred has now tied the meet record set by Shericka Jackson in 2023 and shaved off 0.15 off of her time that placed her second against world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, who ran 10.83 last week at the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

Alfred aims to secure St Lucia’s first Olympic medal in Paris Games later this year.

Born in Castries, St Lucia, Alfred attended Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School in Saint Lucia for seventh and eighth grade before transferring to St Catherine High School in Jamaica for the ninth grade. She then pursued a bachelor’s degree in Youth & Community Studies at the University of Texas.

She is the first woman in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to break the seven-second barrier over 60 metres. Alfred is a three-time individual NCAA Division I champion.