Authorities in Saint Lucia have declared September 27 Julien Alfred Day, honoring the first female Olympic medalist in the history of the Caribbean island nation.
Julien Alfred, 23, won gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m at the Paris Games in August. She became a national hero, with poems, paintings and even a musical ballad written in her honor.
The sprinter returned on Tuesday evening local time to her homeland, where she trained barefoot as a child, and was met at the airport by Prime Minister Philip Pierre and other members of the government, who organized a motorcade for the thousands of eagerly awaiting her countrymen. Adorned with her Paris 2024 medals and draped in the national flag of Saint Lucia, Julien Alfred took multiple selfies and signed hundreds of autographs before climbing into a blue sports car emblazoned with her name and photos of her triumphs in the French capital.
“I have no words. So many people were by my side and helped me get this far. It wasn’t easy. There were many obstacles I had to overcome. There were days when I just wanted to give up”, commented the athlete, who especially he thanked his mother, the government, the coaches and many others, including “my village”.
Julien Alfred has a difficult road to success. When she was 12, her father died and she decided to stop running. Her coach convinced her to return to the sport, and subsequently as a teenager she moved with her mother to Jamaica to train, before going to the University of Texas and becoming a multiple US collegiate champion.
Celebrations to mark Julien Alfred’s return to the island nation, which is just 617 square kilometers in area, will continue for at least two more days with a number of initiatives, including her visiting a primary school to meet local children.
