A mere few hours after Saint Lucia’s sprint queen, Julien Alfred, had everyone buzzing by showing us she aims to be as inspiring as Usain Bolt, she backed it up where it matters most: the track. At Oslo’s historic Bislett Games, she ripped through her season‑opening 100m in 10.89 s, shrugging off a light headwind and any notion of rust in her first 100m race. But, when it comes to idol worship, few moments hit harder than finally meeting your hero. Right? And for Julien, that came after the race with a bit of a reality check.
During pre‑meet media chores, Alfred glanced up, froze, and squealed, “WHAT!… My idol… My heart is pounding.” But, Bolt wasn’t just posing for the cameras; he slipped in a little champion‑to‑champion wisdom. “One thing he said was just taking one step at a time and giving myself some grace,” Alfred revealed. “Then he said that sometimes when we win something big like a major championship, we tend to take every opportunity and miss practice.”
It was a gentle reminder to stay grounded, no matter how many headlines scream your name. The very next evening, that advice already seemed to pay dividends. Julien Alfred’s 10.89 came with Bolt watching from the infield, and he greeted her at the finish with a bouquet. Right after her Diamond League 100 m win in Oslo (June 12, 2025), Julien Alfred reiterated that she sees herself following in Usain Bolt’s footsteps. She was asked if she could become a role model like Bolt. She responded: “I mean, as long as I do what I have to do, then I’m hoping that I can be.”
“Winning the Olympics has given me more confidence… I always train hard nonetheless.”
– Julien Alfred in Stockholm for her 2nd Diamond League 100m race of the season.pic.twitter.com/7WNwVZS2L4
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) June 14, 2025
Yet the biggest reveal came once the crowd noise faded. “Nothing really,” Julien Alfred shrugged when asked what had changed in training. “I think, if anything, I’m running longer running 400, 300 which I don’t usually do. …However, running longer now, I think that’s really what has changed. I think I also have to win in the Olympics that gave me more confidence going into races. I don’t,, I haven’t gotten comfortable, I know that for sure. I still train every single day because I know that, you know, there’s somebody coming, and everybody wants to win towards the end of the year. So I always train hard nonetheless.”
Those grind‑heavy sessions, coach‑ordered 300 and 400‑meter reps have become the new reality for a champ intent on staying a champ. That’s her new reality, not resting on medals, but grinding harder than ever. Because in track and field, it’s never just one race. And she proved it not by performing in her main event, but by excelling in an unfamiliar one.
Julien Alfred’s mission beyond medals
After winning Olympic gold in Paris, Julien Alfred didn’t take a victory lap; she doubled down. While most would’ve paused to bask in the glory, she went straight back to business. “I’m only as good as my last race,” she said, setting the tone for what came next. Just weeks later at the Zurich Diamond League, Alfred placed second behind Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 m, clocking 10.88s. But Julien wasn’t satisfied. In Brussels, she rebounded to win the Diamond League Final with another 10.88s run, closing out the 2024 season with a statement.
If Paris proved she was golden, 2025 is proving she’s made of steel. In April, she stunned fans at the Miramar Invitational by stepping up to a rarely run 300 m and beating none other than Shericka Jackson. Her 36.05s finish broke Saint Lucian and OECS records and ranked her 28th on the all-time global list. But the 300 isn’t her event—it’s part of a brutal new training block under coach Edrick Floreal. “We’ve been doing a lot of strength and longer reps… that’s really what the 300 m was about—testing that last 100 m,” she said.
Floreal’s program is intense: longer reps, over-distance work, and focus on finishing power. Julien’s not resisting, it’s the opposite. “You know, he has a plan. I’m just following his plan… I trust him,” she told reporters after her Boston win, where she also shattered the national indoor 300 m record. Even when she doesn’t love the workouts, she puts in the work. Why? Because medals aren’t the finish line for her, they’re just checkpoints. Every race, every rep, every painful final 30 meters,J ulien Alfred’s out to prove she’s not just fast, she’s built to last.
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