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2024 Paris Olympics: Fans in St. Lucia erupt watching Julien Alfred win country’s first ever Olympic medal

Fans packed in a park in Castries, Saint Lucia, went wild watching Alfred’s gold-medal run Saturday

ryan young
Staff writer
·2 min read

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Julien Alfred pulled off a big upset over American Sha’Carri Richardson to win gold in the women’s 100-meter final on Saturday night in France.

Though they were some 4,000 miles away in the Caribbean, fans in her home country went wild for what was Saint Lucia’s first ever Olympic medal.

Fans packed a park in Castries, Saint Lucia, and watched Alfred run her race on a big screen. As she pulled off the win, the celebration in the tiny island nation’s capital city absolutely erupted. Just watch:

Alfred won the event in 10.72 seconds on Saturday in what was the eighth-fastest women’s 100 time in history. Her margin of victory was the second largest in an Olympic final since 2008, too. Richardson, who is competing in her first Games this summer, finished in second at 10.87 seconds. Fellow American Melissa Jefferson won bronze in the event.

While Alfred won multiple national titles at the University of Texas, her love for running dates back to her childhood when she would run barefoot in school attempting to be like Jamaican sprinting star Usain Bolt.

Now that she’s joined Bolt as an Olympic champion, Alfred is already turning her attention to how she can help other children growing up in Saint Lucia.

“I’m really hoping that we can get a new stadium,” Alfred said. “I’m really hoping that we can help the youth in the country believe that they can get out of the ghetto, help them believe that they can make it here.

“We can come from a small place but also be on the biggest stage.”

Based on the reaction she received on Saturday, they’ll be more than ready to celebrate with her once she returns home.