The world will know my name'- Julien Alfred reveals thoughts

Julien Alfred has revealed what was going through her mind as she geared up for the women’s 100m Olympic final against favourite Sha’Carri Richardson.

Julien Alfred has opened up about her thought process going into the Olympic 100m final, lining up against Sha’Carri Richardson and other formidable sprinters.

Alfred revealed that, not being favorite eased the pressure on her, considering everyone’s eyes was on Richardson, which allowed her to focus on her own race.

She also had a chance to make history for Saint Lucia and she knew her people were watching, hence the motivation to put in the work that finally bore fruit with a win.

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“I knew I had a great chance of making my country known, the world will know my name and there was no pressure at all. Coming in as an underdog, not many people predicted that I would win.

“I felt like there was no pressure from the outside and I knew I had a great chance of creating history for my country and you know, my people, Saint Lucia were watching me and they were expecting a medal,” she told Sky News.

Meanwhile, Alfred also detailed the relationship she shares with her track rivals including reigning world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson.

The reigning 100m Olympic champion revealed that she does not have any issues with Sha’Carri Richardson, pointing out that the American sprint queen has always been nice to her and there’s no reason to have a beef with her.

Julien Alfred added that when they are done racing against each other, everything goes back to normal and she disclosed that her competitors are some of the sweetest people she has come to know.

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The Olympic 200m silver medallist also revealed that they follow each other on Instagram and she comments on some of the photos of her competitors as they also do the same to her posts.

“Whenever I see my competitors, I do say hi to them or like on Instagram when somebody puts up a picture, I’ll respond to them and vice versa and we’ll have a quick chat in our DM’s as well.

“I think what people see on the track as rivals, people can really be nice as well. As you mentioned Sha’Carri is a very sweet person to me, so I don’t have any issues with her,” Julien Alfred told Sky News.

This season, Julien Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson have been very competitive in the 100m with each athlete having a desire to show up when it matters. Richardson was a favourite to win the 100m at the Paris Olympic Games but Julien Alfred, going into the race as an underdog, upset the 24-year-old.

Sha’Carri Richardson got her revenge at the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich but it was all short-lived as Julien Alfred bounced to winning ways at the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels.

Going into next season, Sha’Carri Richardson will be seeking a resounding comeback and will be out to defend her 100m crown at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. On her part, Julien Alfred wants to continue writing history for Saint Lucia and next year will be another opportunity for her to make a mark on the global stage.