An agent for Olympic women’s 100m champion Julien Alfred is not happy with the proposed sprint timelines for the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Henry Rolle, athlete representative for the Saint Lucian sprinter, spoke out over the weekend against what he termed the unfair and inequitable decision to run all rounds of the 100m on the same day.
The athletics schedule for LA28 was released last week, with World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee highlighting the fact that track and field and out-of-stadium events will cover the entire Games period, across 13 days between July 15 and 30.
World Athletics also declared that competition at the iconic LA Memorial Coliseum “will begin with a bang” on Saturday, July 15, 2028, as the women’s 100m takes centre stage on the very first day of Olympic action.
All three rounds, including the final, will take place that day, ensuring the Games open “with one of the most electrifying events in sport”.
That move, to have the heats, semifinals, and final all on the same day, is unprecedented at this level. Athletes, coaches, and track and field fans have almost universally blasted the IOC and WA on social media, citing the lack of recovery time, especially given that the two-day schedule for the men’s 100m is unchanged.
Rolle, a Central American and Caribbean Games silver medallist in high jump and 4x400m relay for The Bahamas in 1988, has coached at the high school, collegiate, and professional level, and has guided more than 31 Olympians and 13 World Championship medalists. He came out swinging against what he sees as the persistent scheduling inequities affecting women sprinters, in a November 13 letter to the world governing body for track and field.
“Across multiple Olympic cycles, the scheduling of women’s short sprint events has repeatedly placed female athletes at a competitive and physiological disadvantage,” said Rolle. “The most recent Summer Olympics made this unmistakably clear: the women’s 200m first round occurred less than 12 hours after the women’s 100m final. For Julien and others, mandatory post-final procedures such as anti-doping control, mixed zone obligations, and media requirements resulted in returning well after 3:00 a.m. and rising only hours later to prepare for the next event.”
Alfred placed second to Gabrielle Thomas of the US in the 200m. Thomas did not compete in the 100. In rolling out the athletics schedule for LA28, Games organisers said they had consulted with legendary American sprinter Allyson Felix and Queen Harrison, as well as the World Athletics’ Athletes Commission. In support of the rollout, they shared favourable comments from Paris silver medalist Sha’Carri Richardson of the US, and world and Olympic medalist Dina Asher-Smith, Alfred’s former training partner.
Said Asher-Smith: “It will be an honour for the women’s 100m to open the LA Games. It’s such an exciting opportunity – celebrating the enduring legacy, strength and global power of women’s sprinting, exactly 100 years on from the first time women competed in Olympic Track and Field. Can’t wait to set the tone for what will be a thrilling and spectacular Games.”
Rolle, however, stated flatly that “Julien Alfred will not be offering a favorable comment” for the LA28 announcement, adding, “We cannot in good conscience contribute to a media narrative praising the current schedule. To do so would misrepresent the lived reality of the athletes and endorse inequity under the guise of promotion.”
Rolle appealed to IOC President Christy Coventry to lean on the principles of “fairness, equity, and a duty of care for women in sport”. He cited a broader pattern of unfairness in women’s sport, and declared that he and Alfred would be speaking to media outlets in the United Kingdom and France to advocate for change.
“Women athletes deserve equal conditions, equal protection, and equal respect,” Rolle concluded. “Anything less is unacceptable.”
The full text of Rolle’s letter follows.
Formal Letter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2025
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to publicly clarify why Julien Alfred will not be offering a favorable comment regarding the recently announced LA28 track and field schedule, particularly the placement of the women’s 100m on day one. While early visibility may be presented as a benefit, visibility without fairness does not constitute progress.
Persistent Scheduling Inequities Affecting Women Sprinters
Across multiple Olympic cycles, the scheduling of women’s short sprint events has repeatedly placed female athletes at a competitive and physiological disadvantage. The most recent Summer Olympics made this unmistakably clear: the women’s 200m first round occurred less than 12 hours after the women’s 100m final. For Julien and others, mandatory post-final procedures such as anti-doping control, mixed zone obligations, and media requirements which resulted in returning well after 3:00 a.m. and rising only hours later to prepare for the next event.
No comparable demands were placed on the men.
As the esteemed coach Stephen Francis has openly stated, he would have no objection to such scheduling if the men were subjected to the same constraints. They are not. This discrepancy reflects a structural inequity that must be addressed, not justified.
A Broader Pattern of Unfairness in Women’s Sport
These issues extend beyond the track. We have also witnessed deeply concerning inequities in women’s boxing, where female athletes have been placed at clear disadvantages—raising serious questions about governance, safety, and competitive legitimacy. Women athletes should not have to navigate systems that treat them as secondary considerations.
Experience and Context
My perspective is grounded in two decades of coaching at the highest collegiate level. I spent 20 years coaching at Auburn University, primarily coaching women, and won an NCAA championship in Athletics during the same era that the newly elected IOC President, Christy Coventry, competed as a collegiate swimmer. Her athletic career was shaped by the Title IX framework, which demanded fairness, equity, and a duty of care for women in sport.
It is my hope that President Coventry will bring these same principles, principles that supported her own success to the International Olympic Committee and its decision-making processes.
Why We Cannot Participate in This Narrative
Given the continued pattern of inadequate recovery windows, secondary consideration of women’s event structure, and unequal conditions compared to male athletes, we cannot in good conscience contribute to a media narrative praising the current schedule.
To do so would misrepresent the lived reality of the athletes and endorse inequity under the guise of promotion.
A Commitment to Speaking Openly
For these reasons, Julien will not be providing a favorable comment for the LA28 announcement. We are, however, engaging with media outlets in France and the United Kingdom to address these concerns more widely and advocate for meaningful systemic
change.
Women athletes deserve equal conditions, equal protection, and equal respect. Anything less is unacceptable.
Thanks,
Henry Rolle
Agent for Julien Alfred
