Julien Alfred is in good health and good spirits, but will miss her next two scheduled meets to fine-tune her preparations for the end of the season. The Olympic 100m champion has shut down claims that she is injured, telling the St Lucia Times that she is currently training and “working on things in preparation for the last few races”.
Alfred, 24, had been scheduled to compete on the Wanda Diamond League circuit twice in the coming weeks. She was announced for the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, this weekend, as well as Athletissima, in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 20. The Silesia meet will include reigning World champion Sha’Carri Richardson and the fastest woman in the world over 100m this year, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.
Whilst both American stars were on the Silesia startlist on Monday, Alfred’s name was absent. The water was muddied further on Tuesday, with the latest release from Lausanne stating that Alfred was out with an injury. “Originally announced, Julien Alfred will not compete in the three Diamond League meetings in August due to injury,” said the article.
St Lucia Times reached out to the athlete herself, however. She confirmed that, whereas she will not be competing at Silesia or Lausanne, all is well. Alfred is the Diamond League 100m champion. With three meets left before the final, Weltklasse Zürich in Switzerland, the sprinter from Ciceron is the only athlete qualified thus far for that meet.
She will also be working with coach Edrick Floréal in Texas, in anticipation of a double challenge for gold next month at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Alfred, the World Indoor 60m champion, is taking aim at titles in the 100m and 200m.
It appears to be a strategic decision to focus on the ‘Worlds’, if she has already qualified for the Diamond League final, then those two races would be insignificant.