ISLAMABAD
\nJulien Alfred had reached breaking point, but one question changed everything.
\n\u201cAre you ready to be Olympic champion?\u201d her coach asked.
\nThe 23-year-old had been through so much.
\nAt 12, she had lost her father. At 14, she had left home, on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, to pursue her Olympic dream.
\nAlfred emerged as a genuine Olympic contender after going close to the world podium last year.
\nShe won the Olympic 100m title at Paris 2024. In September, she had a St Lucia national holiday named after her.
\nYet months before she wrote history, Alfred\u2019s Olympic participation was in serious doubt.
\n\u201cEarly this season, I had a breakdown. I told my coach I didn\u2019t want to continue my season, I told my agent to cancel my meets,\u201d Alfred told BBC Sport.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t want to continue. I was so hard on myself. I was overweight, I was struggling mentally and feeling like I couldn\u2019t go on.
\n\u201cMy coach took me off the track for a bit, we had a long conversation and we both cried on the phone.
\n\u201cThe last thing he said to me was: \u2018Are you ready to be an Olympic champion?\u2019 He believed that I could be one.\u201d
\nAlfred is coached by Texas-based Edrick Floreal, who also trains Great Britain\u2019s Dina Asher-Smith and Ireland\u2019s Rhasidat Adeleke.
\nHis belief proved prophetic.
\nIn a frenzied Saturday night atmosphere at the Stade de France, Alfred seized her moment.
\nWith her first global outdoor title, she not only delivered the first Olympic gold in St Lucia\u2019s history but also the island nation\u2019s first Games medal of any colour.
\nAnd she had achieved it in the Games\u2019 blue riband event, running the race of her life to beat world champion Sha\u2019Carri Richardson in a national record time of 10.72 seconds.
\nAn outpouring of emotion followed. Alfred had reached the pinnacle of her sport – but her father, who died in 2013, was not there to witness it.
\n\u201cOh my God, I cried. I bawled my eyes out,\u201d said Alfred.
\n\u201cJust seeing how far I\u2019ve come but my dad not was there to see me accomplish it.
\n\u201cIt did hurt me, that he was not with me.\u201d
\nAlfred\u2019s passion for athletics was diminished by the loss of her father, Julian, who would take her to training and constantly tell friends about how fast his daughter was.
\n\u201cI felt like the person who wanted me to get to this point in my career was no longer here. I felt there was no need to continue,\u201d said Alfred.
\nConvinced to return to the sport after a break, Alfred hinted at the medals to come by winning Commonwealth Youth Games 100m gold in 2017 and Youth Olympic silver one year later.
\nShe achieved her first international senior medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and, after finishing fourth over 200m and fifth over 100m at the 2023 World Championships, Alfred announced her Olympic credentials by winning world indoor 60m gold in March.
\nBut, rather than inspire confidence that she could land Olympic gold, that success – another first for St Lucia – almost derailed Alfred\u2019s Paris bid.
\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t motivated like before,\u201d she said. \u201cIt felt so much pressure whenever I got a chance to race, because now I thought that St Lucians was expecting so much from me.
\n\u201cI felt like I had to win every single time. I felt like I couldn\u2019t do it.\u201d
\nAfter conversations with her coach and her agent, it was agreed Alfred would prioritise her mental wellwas and withdraw from competitions.
\nShe admitted there was a point earlier this year where she feared she would not be fit enough to compete at the Games.
\nBut, able to reignite her Olympic ambitions, her form was evident at the London Diamond League in July, where Alfred ran a 200m personal best of 21.86 seconds.
\nNot only did Alfred make it to Paris, but she departed the French capital as a double sprint medallist, following up her historic 100m triumph with Olympic 200m silver behind American Gabby Thomas three days later.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a long journey. You don\u2019t just get here. I left home at 14, moved to Jamaica, then Texas. I have been through a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of hardships,\u201d Alfred said.
\n\u201cWhen you finally cross the line and get gold, the thing you have worked so hard for your entire life, it is such an amazing feeling. I was screaming at the top of my lungs.\u201d
\nOn her return home, Alfred was greeted by the prime minister and the nation\u2019s streets were lined with support as she was escorted around the island in a motorcade, with several days of organised celebrations culminated with \u2018Julien Alfred Day\u2019.
\nHaving seen the impact of her successes, she is determined to use her influence to develop the sport in St Lucia while also promoting her country on the global stage as a tourism ambassador.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s such an amazing feeling [to represent St Lucia]. Life has changed in so many different ways,\u201d Alfred said.
\n\u201cUsing what I\u2019ve done on the track to promote my country, that\u2019s life changing.
\n\u201cBut also just seeing how much of an impact I\u2019ve had on so many people\u2019s lives – that, to me, is also life changing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Julien Alfred had reached breaking point, but one question changed everything. \u201cAre you ready to be Olympic champion?\u201d her coach asked. The 23-year-old had been through so much. At 12, she had lost her father. At 14, she had left home, on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, to pursue her Olympic dream. Alfred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-451336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n