Seven-time global gold medallist Justin Gatlin has again voiced his support for Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred, praising her training regimen and anticipating her potential at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
Alfred, the 2024 Olympic 100m champion, opened her season with a world-leading 21.88-second 200m at the Tom Jones Memorial over the Easter weekend. On the Ready, Set, Go podcast with co-host Rodney Green, Gatlin commended her performance, noting her strong foundation from earlier over-distance races this year.
“This girl, this season, thus far has been super impressive from the 4×4 to the 400 to the 300 she ran in Miramar about a week ago,” he said. Gatlin. “Now she opened up with her 200 here at Tom Jones, where she ran the world lead, and only two-hundredths off her personal best, she ran 21.88, and she made it look so easy.”
Green, a Bahamian native, added that Alfred’s performance sends a clear message to her rivals. Only 42 women have ever broken 22 seconds, and only one has done so in April.
“She’s letting the podiums and her event know that ‘I am coming. Be ready. If not, you will fold.’ She’s letting everybody know, putting them on notice,” said Green. “So everybody, I mean it echoed throughout the track and field atmosphere, all the blogs and everything. It was out there. You can’t hide from it. Her competitors saw what she did.”
From a technical standpoint, Green and Gatlin both highlighted the strategy being employed by Alfred and coach Edrick Floreal. Coach Flo guided Alfred through her collegiate years at the University of Texas. Now into her second full year as a professional, the podcast hosts are adamant that the work done earlier in the season is setting the Saint Lucian up for success.
“She worked that curve, and her and coach Flo working on things to where she ran a lot more over-distance things this year; it’s proved to pay off,” said Green. “She’s trying to be a double champion in the one and the two. And what’s going to be so good about that is she’ll be the first one in her country to do so. Trying to be history two times over.”
“I love what Coach Flo is putting together for her,” Gatlin chimed in. “They’re working up the volume, and they’re coming down. And usually in the professional ranks, you do a lot of volume and you shroud it in secret. You do it in practice, and then you start coming down. And then you go into your respective discipline of a 200 or 100. But watching someone like Julien Alfred run 400s, 300s, 4x4s, not just one or two in a season, but multiple times. You can see the progression, you can see the strength, and the speed start to come into effect.
“It’s genius what he’s doing. And for short sprinters, it’s almost like a nightmare because you’re like, I am a 100-metre runner. Why am I running these 400s and 300s, out in public, in front of everybody? But the strength that he puts on them, you could see it’s going to pay off later on this season.”
Both believe Alfred’s endurance gains will also elevate her 100m. “You won’t reel her back,” Green said. They eagerly envision a dream Tokyo 100m clash between Alfred and Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a three-time Olympic gold medallist and 10-time world champion competing in her final season.
Gatlin closed by saying his popcorn was ready.
