Sprinter Alfred wins historic gold for St. Lucia
(CMC) – Julien Alfred sped to a worldleading 6.98 seconds to clinch gold in the women’s 60-metre final yesterday and deliver St. Lucia their first-ever medal at a World Indoor Championships.
Running out of lane four, the 22-yearold Alfred edged out Poland’s Ewa Swoboda at the line in a tense finish, following a strong surge over the last 20 metres.
Swoboda was timed at seven seconds flat, while Italian Zaynab Dosso finished with bronze in a time of 7.05. Following a protracted delay over the result, Alfred burst into tears once she was announced as the winner.
“It feels good. I don’t know how they’re behaving right now [in St. Lucia], but I’m sure they’re happy,” Alfred said of the anticipated mood in the Caribbean country over her success.
“It’s their first medal, and I’ve been dreaming of it for such a long time—to come out here and give my country their first ever medal. And I just feel so happy, so overwhelmed and ecstatic right now.”
Alfred had earlier sparkled in the semifinals with a clocking of 7:03 to win the third heat, responding emphatically to Swoboda’s world-leading 6.98, which took her across the line first in the opening semi-final.
The reigning NCAA indoor 60m and 200m champion and the reigning NCAA outdoor champion over 100m and 200m, Alfred, reached the finals of both sprints at last year’s World Championships in Budapest to reiterate her class.
Yesterday, she trailed Swaboda out of the blocks and was forced to play catchup, with Dosso also ahead of her.
She found her stride around the halfway mark and surged through the final metres to sensationally snatch victory.
“I wanted to just get out of the blocks. I know my top-end speed was there, but my start wasn’t the best, and I know Swaboda has such a great start. So I think my main focus was to just out and just hang on and continue to push to the line,” Alfred explained.
“My start was there; I got a good push, but I felt the ending could’ve been so much better had I just stayed relaxed and not pressured myself to get to the line.”
There was disappointment for several Caribbean sprinters, with the likes of Jamaicans Brianna Williams and Shashalee Forbes, Barbadian Tristan Evelyn, and Bahamian Anthonique Strachan all missing out in the semifinals.