Dominating Sha’Carri Richardson, Julien Alfred Shares Honest Take on Upcoming Track and Field Season: “Lot Harder”
Julien Alfred has been on a dream run since the Paris Olympics. When the camera panned to the St. Lucian, very few would have been interested to know about Alfred. Instead, all the talks were about the mysterious absence of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
But once the race started, the entire world was awestruck to see Alfred crushing the hopes of the crowd favorite to win the race. Running a blitzkrieg time of 10.72s, Alfred dashed the hopes of the American phenom, Sha’Carri Richardson.
Beating the likes of Richardson, Alfred created history. She became the very first female athlete from Saint Lucia to win an Olympic gold medal. And as a matter of fact, this was not the only time that Alfred was able to get the better of Richardson. After the conclusion of Paris, the duo once again met in the Diamond League final. And the results? Well, it did not change much. Alfred kept her composure throughout the season as she beat Richardson’s time once again.
Julien Alfred braces for a tough season ahead
Rounding off her dominant season, there was one last field where Alfred would have wanted to beat Richardson. And she certainly achieved that too! Ahead of the US sprinter, it was Alfred’s accomplishments that were acknowledged. She won the Female Athlete Year of the Year, which served as the perfect icing on the cake. Now, having had a breakthrough season, Alfred will look to continue her dominance into the upcoming season.
Well, this is where the actual challenge will begin. Defending one’s champion status is usually a lot more difficult than winning the championship itself. And surely Alfred knows this the best. That is why she has recently dropped some major updates regarding her training regime.
Speaking on the FloTrack podcast, Alfred stated, “Oh my God, training has been so different this year. It’s been a lot harder than before, thanks to Flo. But you know, now the Olympics is over, and we’re preparing for World Championships next year in September, I believe.”
Alfred further mentioned how she has been trying to lock in on her previous season’s performance. The Olympic gold medalist also mentioned that every race is a new start. Thus, it is very important to keep the momentum going. However, despite the lurking danger of faltering, Alfred is looking forward to keeping the champions’ hunger burning within her. More so, because she is eyeing the Worlds gold in her upcoming venture, defeating the indomitable rivals from the U.S. and Jamaica.