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St. Lucia, a country of less than 200,000 people, watched on Saturday afternoon as one of her daughters, 23-year-old Julien Alfred from the community of Cicerone, entered the history books by winning a gold medal in the 100-meter race at the Paris Olympics, something no St. Lucian had ever accomplished before.
Hours after Alfred’s victory, two songs of patriotism, “We Love St. Lucia” and “I Am a Saint Lucian,” were still reverberating on music systems across the country.
Saint Lucians immediately expressed their joy on social media, with many writing they were “in tears”.
Although heavy rain fell at Derek Walcott Square, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators, who turned out to watch the game on a giant TV screen set up specially for the occasion.
Alfred became Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medalist with a time of 10.72 seconds, a feat that not only endeared her to all Saint Lucians and the diaspora, but also firmly etched her in the record books.
Even the heavens seemed to be smiling on Alfred on Saturday afternoon, as rain fell both in St. Lucia and at the Stade de France, France’s national stadium and the country’s largest, where Alfred made history by winning France’s first Olympic medal.
Alfred dominated the race, breaking the national record with a time of 10.72 seconds, far ahead of the fastest woman in the world that year, American world champion Shakali Richardson, who took the silver medal with a time of 10.87 seconds
It must be noted that although Saint Lucia has sent athletes to several Olympic Games, it has never won an Olympic medal of any color.
But Saint Lucie’s sprinting career isn’t over yet. Next week’s 200m race will be her next goal. How she will perform is still unknown. What she can count on, though, is the support of her fellow Saint Lucians as she regroups and prepares for another Olympic milestone.
Alfred resides in Austin, Texas, and trains under coach Edrick Floreal.
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