Julien Alfred, the fastest woman in the world over 200m this year, will return to the half-lap this weekend.
She is set to compete in the longer of her two pet events for the third time this season at the Novuna London Athletics Meet, a Diamond League event, on Saturday. The 24-year-old from Ciceron was a silver medallist in the 200m last year at the Paris Olympics.
As she continues ramping up for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Alfred will be back at the venue where she produced her fastest run ever over 200m. She finished second to Olympic gold medallist Gabrielle Thomas last year in London’s Olympic Stadium. The American ran 21.82 seconds, whilst Alfred’s 21.86 was a national record.
This year, Alfred holds the world lead of 21.88 seconds with her April outing at the Tom Jones Memorial in Florida. She also ran and won at the 75th Boris Hanžeković Memorial in Zagreb, Croatia, in May.
Included in the London race will be two of Alfred’s training partners. She is 4-4 against Rashidat Adeleke, but has not lost to the Irishwoman since January 2023. She has never lost to Dina Asher-Smith of the United Kingdom in six runs at this distance.
The contest also includes Brittany Brown of the US, bronze medallist in Paris, the only time she’s run against Alfred. Spain’s national record-holder Jaël Bestué is down to compete as well. She lost to Alfred in their only meeting in Croatia this year.
Amy Hunt of the United Kingdom was eighth in London last year. Alfred has not run against Jamaica’s Ashanti Moore since her schoolgirl days at St Catherine High. The Saint Lucian won both of their meetings over 200m.
Rounding out the field is a third British athlete, Daryll Neita. Alfred has beaten her seven times, most recently in Florida.
Organisers Athletic Ventures have promised fans a truly unforgettable day of world-class track and field at the world’s biggest one-day athletics event. A sellout crowd of 60,000 will witness athletes with a remarkable 75 medals between them from the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The Novuna London Athletics Meet is the eleventh stop of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League, which features 15 of the sport’s most prestigious meetings across four continents and will award a record total of US$9.24 million in prize money. The series concludes with a two-day final in Zurich at the end of August.
