Alfred aims to extend winning streak in Monaco

Julien Alfred has only beaten Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas once in the 200m, at the 2023 Monaco Diamond League.  On Friday, the Saint Lucian and the American will line up against each other and a strong field, including young prodigy Adaejah Hodge.

The race at Stade Louis II is set to start at 3:19 p.m. Saint Lucian time. In under 22 seconds, we might see a new world leader in the 200m for 2026.

Hodge, a University of Georgia student from the British Virgin Islands, holds the fastest 200m time this year at 21.70 seconds. Alfred’s personal best is 21.71, set in London last year, and she has run 21.86 this season. Thomas ran 21.70 last month and is the fourth-fastest woman ever in the event, with a 21.60 from three years ago.

Alfred, who won the 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, often speaks about self-care and mental health. Before the Monaco Diamond League and her fourth race against Thomas, the 25-year-old stressed the importance of balance.

“Sometimes I tend to be so focused on competing non-stop and winning all the time that I become so hard on myself,” she said. “So, something that I’ve been trying to do is go back to Saint Lucia every single month to find balance and decompress with my family and friends, and just be where I was born and raised.”

This will be Alfred’s fourth race in Monaco, and she’s ready to take on a stellar field of competitors. In her first professional race here in 2023, she finished second to Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson in the 200m. She has won the 100m in Monaco for the last two years. On Friday, she hopes to run under 22 seconds and take the win.

“I’m really excited to go out here and just see where I’m at after resting for the past four weeks,” she said. “Since turning pro, I’ve been here multiple times. I ran my first Diamond League here, so I’m just really excited to race again.

“I feel good. I’m in really great shape. I went back for the past four weeks and really worked on what I had to work on. I’m in great shape physically and mentally as well, so I’m really excited to race tomorrow.”

While Alfred will focus on the Diamond League Finals and the World Athletics Ultimate Championships later this season, she will not compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, this month.

“No, unfortunately, I won’t be competing in the Commonwealth Games,” she said. “It just doesn’t work with my schedule as of now, so no, I won’t be.

“There’s not much I can say about Ultimate Championships. I just try to look at major championships as just another race to just not psych myself out. But I’m really excited to go out there and compete to my fullest abilities.

“I try to approach the season the exact same way as I would during a championship year, so I don’t think it’s super hard for me. I’m a very competitive person. I want to always put my best foot forward, to always go out there and just try to win. So I try not to relax and not think of it as a relaxed year and a non-championship year.”

(TF)