How Usain Bolt Inspired Julien Alfred to Win 100m Gold at Paris Olympic
Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred recently disclosed how legendary athlete Usain Bolt inspired her to secure the gold medal in the 100m race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 23-year-old’s unexpected victory against a formidable group of athletes marked both her first Olympic win and the first for her country, setting a new national record in the process.
Julien Alfred has firmly established herself as a top athlete in 2024, beginning the year by winning the gold medal in the 60m race at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. At the Paris Olympics, she not only took home gold in the 100m but also earned a silver medal in the 200m race.
Alfred recently revealed that she drew inspiration from eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt to secure her spot in the 100m race. In an interview with The Times, the two-time Olympic medalist shared that she turned to running as a means to help her family, which led her to study Bolt’s races to learn various aspects of the sport.
“I wanted to help my family, and I saw running as a way out. So I watched a few of his races before mine. I had to go back to my roots to see how he handled everything, from the pressure to the celebrations. He was an inspiration to me growing up, and I wanted to be just like him,” she said.
In the 100m race, Julien Alfred faced strong competitors such as Marie-Josée Ta Lou and Sha’Carri Richardson. However, the University of Texas athlete claimed the gold with an impressive time of 10.72 seconds, beating Sha’Carri Richardson, who finished at 10.87 seconds, and Melissa Jefferson, who clocked in at 10.92 seconds. In the 200m race, Alfred secured a silver medal with a time of 22.08 seconds.
Alfred also shared that the main reason she chose to attend the University of Texas was to train under renowned coach Edrick Floreal, who has coached top athletes like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Keni Harrison. She said, “While I was in high school in Jamaica, I watched him coach Sydney [McLaughlin-Levrone] and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, and he was also coaching Keni [Harrison] at the time. Seeing him have a huge amount of great athletes, I wanted to be with a coach like that” (via World Athletics).
