We talk to the Olympic 100m champion about life-changing moments, carrying the hopes of a nation and leaving it all out on the track

It’s 6pm on a Tuesday in Oslo and Julien Alfred has dinner plans. There’s a 24th birthday – her own – to celebrate with friends in an hour’s time but despite that pressing engagement, still dressed in her tracksuit and cutting the most relaxed of figures, the Olympic 100m champion is more than happy to make time to sit and talk in the lobby of her hotel. 

She is in the Norwegian capital to compete at the Bislett Games, where she will go on to run her first 100m of the year in 10.89. Just a few days later, in Stockholm, she will take down the Bauhaus Galan Diamond League meeting record of 10.90 that was set by Irina Privalova back in 1990, running 10.75. The fact that she was easing up as she hit the line when she recorded the second-fastest time in the world this year at the time of writing suggests that, once again, the Saint Lucian looks like being the one to beat at the major championships of the summer.

It’s closing in on the first anniversary of the moment of her sporting life in Paris, when she sped through the pouring rain to emphatically clinch Olympic gold and make an indelible mark not just on the sprinting world but also her home nation, which had never had an Olympic medallist to celebrate, let alone a champion. 

There is now an national holiday in Alfred’s name in Saint Lucia and she is a bona fide star but, as we discuss a range of topics – including the day job, her career to date and the Texas training set-up where she works alongside the likes of Dina Asher-Smith under coach Edrick Floreal – it’s her quiet humility that is perhaps most striking.  

How young were you when you realised you had a special talent?

I joined a club around the age of nine of 10 when I was in the fourth grade after being recognised by my PE teacher. When I raced against the boys and the girls at my school, I’d always win every single race. If I lost, I'd cry. I think that's when I realised that I was fast. When my dad died [in 2013] I stopped running but when I re-started I took it more seriously. 

I left my home at the age of 14 to go to Jamaica, so I had already adjusted to living in a bigger country – Saint Lucia has only 180,000 people – before going to college in America. The food is different and the US is enormous. The way of living is just different but it wasn't that big of a difference where I had to make a huge adjustment to it.

At the 2023 World Championships you finished fourth in the 100m and fifth in the 200m. A year later, it was first and second. What made the difference? 

Hard work. 2023 was a long collegiate season. Most people don’t understand that but I think I had run over 50 races during the year so, going back to training, trying to figure out what happened, I knew that my body was tired but I now think I was tired mentally, as well. I realised that 2023 had been a long season and I remember I met my agent and he said: “Those things happen and you just have to just come back stronger.” I think having such a great team around me definitely made a huge difference in my ability to bounce back from such a disappointment at the World Championships.

How important was winning the world indoor 60m title in Glasgow last year as a stepping stone to Paris?

As much as you would think that it would help me in my preparation for Paris, it actually caused me to be much harder on myself. I had a lot of doubts. I was putting so much pressure on myself whenever I stepped up to the line after that. Some may think that it would have caused me to be more confident, but it definitely did not. It just allowed me to be harder on myself, made me feel like every time I stepped to the line now I had to put on a show – not just for myself, but for my people in Saint Lucia.

Do you still carry that pressure to have to win for St Lucia?

I don't put any pressure on myself when it comes to representing my tiny island [now] because I see myself as being a dark horse. Nobody talks about me that much and nobody really cares – you watch out for the Jamaicans or the Americans. I don't mind. I love being the dark horse. I love not being spoken about. It's always a pleasure representing Saint Lucia, the tiny island. And there are advantages – we don't have any selection trials to negotiate! 

Was there a moment when you just suddenly thought: “Woah, I'm Olympic champion”?

There were several moments when that hit me and you would probably have seen me crying at those moments. That's when I realised what had happened, how my life was about to change and just realising it was a dream come true when I crossed that line.

Then when I got to the area when I got my clothes back I realised that I had literally just won the Olympics, but also that my dad was not there to see it. Every time you saw me getting emotional was a moment that I realised: “Wow, I'm really the champion”.

Do you feel winning the Olympics has changed you?

Has it changed me? That's a great question. I would say, for the most part, no. I am still the same person. However, it has definitely caused me to be a lot more confident in myself and it has taken away some of the doubt that I had within myself, seeing where I am now and what I've accomplished. Being around good athletes and just doing what I did in Paris, I think that has changed me for the better. So I would say “yes”, but I'm still the same Julien.

When you went to college in America, did training change radically?

I remember my first workout when we did 6 x 200m.  For the first two I was flying and then, the last four I could have barely make it to the line. That's just how hard it was and I had to get used to that programme. I had not really lifted weights much and in US I lift twice a week. Having to adjust to a whole new programme, a new coach, new environment, new team-mates was definitely something that took some time. And I would sometimes just cry. I wanted to go home because it was just so hard.

Tell me about Coach Flo

He's like a father figure, a coach obviously, and a mentor to us. Healways ensures that he's the best person he can be for us, to ensure that we can go on the track and deliver - for ourselves, for our family and ensuring that our goals always align with what he has planned for us. He's just an amazing person. 

What is your training like at the moment? 

To be honest, I'm not sure how much I can share when it comes to that, because my coach sets the programme. At the moment we're trying to focus on key things such as technique, my blocks, just trying to improve little things. It took a long time to get to this point because we've been working on my strength and on so many other things. But overall, we're just in a place where we are trying to ensure that everything is going smoothly so that when the big dance comes around, I'm ready for it.

If we had a crystal ball and we could look forward 10 years, do you think you will have achieved more at the 100m or the 200m?

That's a good question. My coach thinks I'm a good 200m runner but I would say the 100m. I've been working on the 200m this year, trying to change my mentality towards it.

I just love running the 100m more than the 200m. When I was in college, I always said I didn’t like the 200, but that has changed a lot. I enjoy it now, I am learning how to run it and learning to trust my strength more because I do have a lot more strength. However, I would say that the 100m is just an event that I truly love and I don't know if that will ever change.

Also, I don’t think I am a good bend runner – but my coach doesn't agree! I did run the first leg quite a lot in college relays but I think that I have a lot of work to do when it comes to running the bend better. It just takes practice to become a good bend runner – I would hope – and that's something that I'm working on now.

What is Dina Asher-Smith like as a training partner?

It's competitive! Because Dina and I are doing the same events we push each other in training. You know, like the Bible says, “iron sharpens iron” and I think we're great for each other as training partners. Where she is strong in one place and I'm working on another place and we help sharpen each other. I think she's brought a lot to the group and we are pushing each other to get better.

Moving away from Saint Lucia to Austin where nobody knows me has helped. I think it is hard to be as focused in your home town. Moving away from home can definitely have its benefits for Dina as much as me.

What are your hopes and plans for the next few years?

I want to give the next few years the best shot that I possibly can to achieve all that I can at a very young age. Obviously, everybody wants to win major championships and I want the same thing for myself but for now it’s just giving my best, giving all my and wanting to leave this year and the rest of my career with no regrets at all.