Former world and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin has once again thrown his support behind Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred following her stunning performance at last weekend’s London Athletics Meet.
Alfred, the Olympic 100m gold medallist and 200m silver medallist, clocked 21.71 seconds to win the 200m in London, tying the ninth-fastest time ever recorded in the event.
Gatlin, a four-time global champion across both sprints, suggested that her latest performance could be a sign of even greater things to come. He noted that such historically fast times are typically seen in championship settings, where athletes push their limits in high-stakes races.
“Usually, when you hear about ninth all-time, fifth all-time, second, third all-time, those are usually run in championship settings,” he said. “You’re usually giving your fastest effort for the most important race. To be able to run that kind of time during the Diamond League tells you what we got in store next coming up in the next couple races.”
Gatlin believes the Olympic champion has more to offer, especially considering she has faced negative winds in her last four races. Alfred is expected to return to the 100m in mid-August in Poland. Currently, the fastest woman in the world this season over 200m, she ranks second in the 100m behind American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.
Jefferson-Wooden, 2023 world champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Olympic 200m gold medallist Gabrielle Thomas will compete at the US Outdoor Track and Field Championships (July 31–August 3 in Eugene, Oregon), where Team USA’s roster for September’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo will be decided.
On the Ready Set Go podcast, Gatlin and former Bahamian sprinter Rodney Green identified Jefferson-Wooden and Thomas as key challengers who could stand between Alfred and double gold in Tokyo. Other contenders include Americans Anavia Battle, Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long, as well as Nigeria’s Favour Ofili and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the 2023 world champion over 200m.
But Gatlin remains confident that under coach Edrick Floreal’s guidance, Alfred will be ready to dominate in Tokyo. The 2017 100m gold medallist observed that the 24-year-old appears more focused on execution than times, a mindset he credits to “Coach Flo”, who has trained her for nearly a decade.
“Flo is that kind of coach; he’s going to get into your head,” Gatlin said. “He’s going to talk to you… You get an understanding of what kind of coach you’re dealing with; that creates an athlete like this. Like, she’s not even worried about times. They just clipping it off.”
He speculated that Floreal’s approach relieves pressure by emphasising effort over results: “He’s probably telling her, ‘Don’t worry about no times. It’s all about effort… You come back in this warm-up area, you’re gonna get a nice hug, pat on the back; mission accomplished!’ That takes away a lot of pressure… A lot of athletes get down on themselves like, ‘man, that’s not the time I want to hit’, but they don’t realise the master plan is always in the coach’s head. And that’s why they say, ‘Flo knows’.”
Gatlin has long been an admirer of Alfred, the former collegiate star from Ciceron. Now, she has the chance to follow in his footsteps by securing global titles at 60m, 100m and 200m.
