It’s Already a Record-Setting Year for Saint Lucia Athletics

Saint Lucia can expect more national junior records at the Carifta Games this Easter weekend in Trinidad & Tobago. This would add to what has already been a historic year for the island’s athletes, who have delivered standout performances both indoors and outdoors. Let’s take a closer look at their achievements so far.

Medal hopeful Naomi London has already broken the Under-20 women’s 100m record, surpassing Olympic champion Julien Alfred’s previous mark. Alfred herself has set three records this year, with more likely to come.

The 2025 indoor season was extraordinary for Saint Lucia, possibly unprecedented, with six new national records. Since the island lacks an indoor circuit, all were set in the US, mostly in collegiate competitions.

Women rewrote records in the 60m hurdles (twice), 300m, 400m, and weight throw (twice, by two athletes just 10 days apart). Two men’s records fell – in the 60m hurdles (twice) and 200m – while a third narrowly survived.

Julien Alfred’s 300m and 400m records were among the most anticipated. Under coach Edrick Floreal’s guidance, the 23-year-old sprint star –already the national record holder in the 60m, 100m, and 200m (indoors and outdoors) – clocked 36.16 to win the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in February. Days later, she broke Verneta Lesporis’ indoor 400m record with a 52.97 at the Tiger Paw Invitational.

That same Valentine’s Day meet saw two more records, though neither lasted the season. Aasia Laurencin ran 8.04 in the 60m hurdles preliminaries, then shattered her own mark with a 7.97 at the Big Ten Championships, earning a spot in the World Indoor semifinals. This capped her final collegiate season at the University of Michigan.

Saint Lucia’s throwers also shone. Natalie Albert (University of Memphis) set a weight throw record (18.58m) on Valentine’s Day, only for Lauralynn Clifford (Coastal Carolina) to reclaim it with an 18.99m heave 10 days later. Clifford, raised in Canada, and Albert, a Jamaican high school alumna, lead a strong contingent alongside Joy Edward (Troy University), last year’s shot put record-breaker.

At the Big 12 Championships, Saint Lucia’s other Paris 2024 track and field Olympian Michael Joseph added to his record haul. The University of Kansas senior, already the country’s fastest in the 400m (indoors/outdoors) and part of the 4x100m record team, set a new indoor 200m mark (20.76).

Khailan Vitalis (South Plains CC) also impressed, breaking his own 60m hurdles record with a 7.75 at January’s Corky Classic. The Kingston College alum holds junior and senior 110m hurdles records.

Meanwhile, Asa Francis (Coppin State) narrowly missed his 1000m national record but remains a contender for the outdoor 800m mark.

Some longstanding records endure: Ronald Promesse’s 60m (6.66, 1999), Dominic Johnson’s pole vault (5.55m, 1998), and Michelle Baptiste’s long jump (6.38m, 1997). Junior records from the 1980s – Bernard “Fox” Henry’s 800m (1:50.39, 1988) and Adella Paul’s discus (35.74m, 1989) – also remain.

Newcomers like Denzel Phillips (junior shot put/discus) and DeAndre Isidore (400m hurdles) show promise, while Naya Jules (pole vault/javelin) will debut at CARIFTA.

With Alfred, Laurencin, Joseph, and others poised for more breakthroughs, Saint Lucia’s athletics future shines bright. With appropriate planning and support, Alfred’s Olympic medals need not stand alone as examples of Saint Lucian excellence in elite world sport. We must be proud of where we are, but we must also ask ourselves what more is to come as we support our record-breakers.