SAINT DENIS, France (AP) — The memories flooded back as Julien Alfred rang the victory bell at the end of the track to signify that she was indeed an Olympic 100-meter champion.
A sound that made everything really feel real.
She remembered running barefoot all over the place as a kid growing up in St. Lucia. All those who helped her along the way, too. And the most powerful memory, the one that made her burst into tears, the thoughts of her late father, who believed this sort of moment was possible.
That’s who this was for, Alfred said, after powering through the rain to hold off Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson and the rest of the field Saturday night to win the first Olympic medal for her island country.
“He believed I could be an Olympian. That I can be here,” Alfred said after winning in a time of 10.72 seconds. “To come out with the win, happy I was able to do it. I want to attribute it to (my father). … He’d be so boastful of his daughter being an Olympian.”
No doubt, Alfred was a medal contender. But Richardson was the heavy favorite. The rain didn’t dampen Alfred, only energized her. She got out fast and never looked back, beating Richardson by .15 seconds.
“As long as you just run your race and try to execute what you have to do, then you’re fine,” the sprinter from the eastern Caribbean island said.
Alfred’s been doing that since she was spotted by the school librarian as a kid. She was fast, too, but walked away from the sport after losing her father when she was around 12. Her coach convinced her to return. To give it another chance.
Alfred moved to Jamaica as a teenager to train, then attended the University of Texas, where she became a mulitple NCAA champion.
Now, Olympic gold medalist. She liked the sound of that.
“It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my coach. It means a lot to my country,” the 23-year-old Alfred said. “I’m sure they’re celebrating right now.”
To get ready for the race, Alfred spent the morning watching footage of Jamaican sensation Usain Bolt.
“I just watched how he just executed,” Alfred said.
She then put what she watched into motion. Her favorite part of the evening, of course, was celebrating like Bolt would. She relished ringing that bell that winners get to ring.
“You don’t ever see me get to celebrate like that ever,” Alfred said. “I’m just really happy, it happened on the biggest stage of my career.”
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