In the midst of world champion Sha’Carri Richardson’s incredible victory in the women’s 100-meter final at the Paris 2024 Games, little-known Julien Alfred shocked everyone by winning St. Lucia’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.
When Alfred defeated the American track star in the semifinals, she gave fans an early taste of what was to come. Track fans, however, didn’t see much significance in it given the sad situation Richardson had encountered a few hours prior, which would have interfered with her ability to warm up and do her pre-race routines.
Alfred had other ideas as she raced to her nation’s maiden Olympic gold in a new lifetime best of 10.72 seconds, with the US speedster settling for the silver medal ahead of her countrymate Melissa Jefferson for bronze. Richardson was the fastest woman in the world this year, so all eyes were on her.
Following Alfred’s name becoming widely known, many began asking, “Where is Saint Lucia?” after the 23-year-old won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the Olympics in Paris with ease.
Today, millions of people around the world are aware of the name Saint Lucia, owing to Alfred and, naturally, internet search engines such as Google.
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