Julien Alfred reveals the advice Bolt gave her

Nearly a month after meeting her childhood hero and the fastest man of all time, Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred is still replaying the experience of chatting with sprint icon Usain Bolt. On Friday, ahead of what promises to be an epic 100m showdown at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League, the 24-year-old Saint Lucian revealed the advice she received from Jamaica’s world record holder, multiple world champion, and Olympic gold medal winner.

“Well, it was such an honour meeting him for sure. I mean, he’s been my idol since I was a little girl, but just meeting him at first, I had so many questions I wanted to ask,” said Alfred. “I mean, just how he was able to [do it] – being from an island like Jamaica, a small island, and having to have his country on his back every single time. 

“And, now being from a smaller island like Saint Lucia, I wanted to know how he was able to move on from one race to the next, and you know, have so many titles each time. 

“And he was just saying it’s just not taking every opportunity that you get, and being able to still focus on what got you to that point, which is training and working hard… Never forget what got you to that point, which is working hard, and just never be comfortable at all.” 

Alfred had previously admitted to having had a mental breakdown ahead of her most recent Diamond League outing, in Stockholm, Sweden. After a conversation with her coach, Edrick Floreal, she turned in the second-fastest wind-legal run of her career, and the second fastest time for the season. 

On Saturday, she goes up against the fastest woman this year, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the USA, and world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, also of the USA. Richardson is the defending 100m champion at the Pre Classic on historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

The meet celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, with star-studded lineups across the board, but perhaps none more so than the women’s 100m. Richardson, the silver medallist at Paris 2024, said she is hoping for a healthy race and good execution, after sustaining an injury earlier this year. Jefferson-Wooden said she is taking things day by day.

Alfred conceded that she has had a checkered history with Hayward Field. In 2022, she won the collegiate women’s 100m for the University of Texas. That same year, she exited the World Championships at the same venue after she was adjudged to have beaten the gun in the semifinals.

“You know, it’s quite different for me,” she asserted. “I won my first NCAA title here, but then later on, a few months after that, my first world championship, I false-started here as well. So, I mean, it’s a love/hate relationship with Hayward Field, but I’m just looking forward to going out there tomorrow and just making it count and hoping for a better outcome.”