Saint Lucia’s Paris 2024 Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred, took third in that event on September 14 in Tokyo, Japan, running the final at the World Athletics Championship. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the USA ended her season unbeaten over the distance, winning in 10.61 seconds, a new personal-best and Games record.
Alfred, the 24-year-old from Ciceron, captured Saint Lucia’s first-ever World Championships medal. She was third in 10.84 seconds, adding to her two Olympic medals, consecutive Diamond League trophies, and her World Indoors gold medal from 2024. Jamaica’s Tina Clayton ran a personal-best 10.76 for silver.
It’s a great opportunity. Every time I step on the track I’m blessed,” said Alfred. “I didn’t get a gold medal, but I’m still happy nonetheless.”
The Olympic champion, who will compete in the 200m later this week, said she had faced a last-minute injury concern that affected her performance. “I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, to be quite honest,” she revealed. “Felt my hamstring a little bit in the warmup area before I came out to the final, so that threw me off a little bit. I have to go back to my team, and see how I can get better.”
Jefferson-Wooden capped off a triumphant year with the fourth-fastest run of all time, which will likely elevate her past Alfred for the top ranking in the 100m. The American rode a brilliant start and pulled away from the field for gold, with a 0.3 metre-per-second wind reading.
Earlier in the day, Aasia Laurencin competed in the heats of the women’s 100m hurdles for Saint Lucia. The 23-year-old ran 13.03 seconds to place fifth in Heat 2, missing out on qualification for the semifinals.
