Alfred stuns the World at Paris Olympics, wins first gold for St. Lucia

Women’s 100-metre Paris Olympic Gold medalist – St. Lucian Julian Alfred. Photo by World Athletics.

By Admin. Updated 5:17 p.m., Saturday, August 3, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

Julian Alfred is the new name the Caribbean and the world will remember for a long time as the St. Lucian won the first Olympic gold medal for her country.

On Saturday, at the Olympic Stadium in Paris, France, the 23-year-old stunned the world by winning the much-anticipated Women’s 100-metre finals in a time of 10.72 seconds.

Her performance in the finals was an improvement from her semi-final time of 10.84 and her Round 1 time of 10.92.

Her win also halted Jamaican and American dominance in the women’s 100-metre Olympic medal event, but it maintained the Caribbean’s athletic prowess on the world stage.

In second position was Sha’carri Richardson representing the USA in a time of 10.87 and third position went to Melissa Jefferson also of the USA in a time of 10.92.

The current Olympic record for the women’s 100-metre race is 10.49 seconds set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.