Despite arriving at the 2024 Paris Olympics with only five athletes, the Saint Lucia sports delegation has already made a significant impact at the Games.
Julien Alfred celebrates after crossing the finish line - Photo: Reuters
A difficult childhood
Before her explosive performance in the final, Julien was already considered a top contender for the 100m title. She had previously won the gold medal in the 60m at the 2024 Indoor Athletics World Championships and led throughout the 100m women's event from the semi-finals at the Olympics. A day before the final competition, American media published Julien's story, comparing her to superstar Sha'Carri Richardson. Both experienced difficult childhoods and family tragedies before rising to prominence through the American collegiate sports system. Julien's father, Julian Hamilton (Julien uses her mother's surname), passed away when she was only 12 years old. Immediately after winning the gold medal, Julien spoke of her father with a choked voice: "I believe my father has always been there to witness this moment." More than 10 years ago, the pain of losing her father caused Julien to become so depressed that she considered giving up athletics. In 2015, at the age of 14, Julien had the opportunity to study in Jamaica, and that revived her motivation to train. "My mother couldn't come with me, but she didn't stop me. And so I went to Jamaica. It wasn't easy growing up without family," Julien recounted. Why Jamaica? Of course, it's the homeland of Usain Bolt, and also the cradle of sprint athletics. If we divide running events into two – sprints and endurance – Kenya and Ethiopia represent the endurance group, while the US and Jamaica lead the sprint group. Before Julien's arrival, the women's 100m had been dominated by Jamaican runners for four consecutive Olympics. A sprinter going to Jamaica to study is similar to a table tennis player going to China for training.Explosion from the NCAA
Julien Alfred's name began to rise to prominence at the 2018 Youth Olympics, where she won a silver medal in the 100m. A few months before that, Julien received another devastating blow when her aunt, Karen Alfred, who had raised her since childhood, passed away. But at this point, Julien's potential was already evident, and nothing could stop this girl from Saint Lucia. That same year, Julien received a scholarship to the University of Texas and began working with coach Edrick Floreal. Floreal led the University of Texas track and field team and had long been renowned as a highly skilled coach in youth development. Many of Floreal's students from the University of Texas went on to become top track and field stars. And Julien is now one of the brightest stars. After four years competing in the NCAA – the American collegiate sports system – Julien turned professional in 2022, by which time she had earned a bachelor's degree in community studies from the University of Texas. Success didn't come too soon. Julien failed at the 2022 World Championships, but then showed improvement by finishing 4th in the 100m final at the 2023 World Championships. Her recent Olympic gold medal was a leap forward, but it came from a well-planned process. Her 10.72-second Olympic final time is also her career best 100m time, surpassing Richardson's (10.87 seconds). Despite coming from a small country with a population only enough to fill the Stade France stadium twice, Julien was actually trained by two of the world's leading sprinting nations. Combined with this is the strong willpower of a girl who lost her father at a young age. All of this creates an extraordinary story.
The women's 100m champion at the 2024 Paris Olympics - Photo: REUTERS
Historical milestones
Saint Lucia has a remarkably modest sporting history. They first participated in the Olympics in 1996. At each Summer Olympics, their number of athletes never exceeded six, and naturally, they hadn't won a single medal until Julien appeared. On the day Julien made history for Saint Lucia, another small nation achieved a similar feat: the Dominican Republic with Thea LaFond's gold medal in the triple jump. Dominica is only slightly larger than Saint Lucia, with an area of 750 km² , but its population is only about half that of Saint Lucia. Like Saint Lucia, this was also their first Olympic medal in history.Tuoitre.vn
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-co-tich-tu-doan-the-thao-5-vdv-tai-olympic-2024-2024080510195646.htm
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