St Lucia’s Julien Alfred starts bid for second leg of Olympic sprint double

PARIS – Newly crowned Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred launched her bid for the second leg of a sprint double on Aug 4, easing through her 200m heat as two-time world champion Shericka Jackson pulled out.

The withdrawal of Jackson, who had already skipped the 100m won by St Lucia’s Alfred on Aug 3, follows that of her fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from the shorter sprint.

Jackson, bronze medallist in the 100m in Tokyo in 2021, suffered an apparent injury at a meet in Hungary three weeks ago and had said her decision to miss the 100m was best for her “body, mind and soul”.

Alfred’s main threat now is likely to come from Tokyo Olympics 200m bronze medallist Gabrielle Thomas of the United States.

Alfred looked fresh, despite the emotion of winning St Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medal.

The 23-year-old was so far ahead of her rivals she eased down 40m from the line, timing 22.41 seconds and still finished comfortably ahead of the runner-up, Gemima Joseph of France.

Alfred is attempting to match Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, who did the 100m-200m sprint double in Rio in 2016, repeating the feat at the Tokyo Games. The Jamaican is not in Paris due to an Achilles injury.

Thomas eased through her heat in 22.20sec, with her teammate, Brittany Brown, qualifying for the semi-finals in 22.38sec.

The 29-year-old Brown, who won 200m silver at the 2019 world championships but is appearing at her first Olympics, said she had had a few rough years, with the Covid-19 pandemic a factor.

“It took a bit of getting back on my feet and then I changed coaches and I think that it’s all come together,” she said.

“So it’s been nice to have that feeling of like, you know, when everything arrives at the same time.”

Brown’s conqueror from Doha, Dina Asher-Smith, is seeking her first individual medal in her third appearance at Olympics.

The 28-year-old European 100m champion was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the shorter sprint on Aug 3 and used that disappointment to fuel her.

But the British sprinter finished a relaxed second in her heat on Aug 4.

“I’m really happy with that,” said Asher-Smith. “It was really easy. I ran angry.

“My coach (Edrick Floreal) and I are just taking one round at a time. I know I’m in great shape.”

The 200m semi-finals are scheduled for Aug 5, with the final listed for Aug 6.

On Aug 3, Alfred had put pre-race favourite and world champion Sha’Carri Richardson of the United States in the shade to win the 100m.

She triumphed in 10.72sec, ahead of Americans Richardson (10.87sec) and Melissa Jefferson (10.92sec).

Alfred got herself in the right mindset by watching videos of retired Jamaican great Usain Bolt on the morning of Aug 3 and by the evening had catapulted herself into her country’s own pantheon of greats.

“Growing up, I used to be on the field struggling with no shoes running barefoot, running in my school uniform, running all over the place,” said Alfred.

“I’m really hoping this gold medal will also help the youth and help St Lucia build a new stadium and really help the sport grow.”

In a remarkable turn of events, there was – just 10 minutes later – another gold for a second island nation in the West Indies, which also began competing at the Games in 1996.

Dominica’s Thea LaFond leapt to a national record of 15.02m with her second effort in the triple jump. The world indoor champion held her nerve as Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts could only clear 14.87m to claim silver. Jasmine Moore (14.67m) of the US took bronze.

“It is absolutely beyond my wildest dreams,” said LaFond. “The rain was kind of in my favour, it came down as soon as I was done with that second jump – thank you God for working with me!”

Lafond added: “Here we are, Olympic champ. Dominica’s first medal, it’s gold. Indoor was the first medal, it was gold. What a year, what a life, oh my god, wow!

“Every time I step on the track is an honour, bearing the flag is an honour, being Dominican is an honour. Representing a country with only 70,000 people and being out here and getting their first medal, a gold, is an honour.”

On a heady night of track and field, Femke Bol fired out a broadside at 400m hurdles rival Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone with an incredible show of running that anchored the Netherlands to victory in the 4x400m mixed relay in 3min 7.43sec.

McLaughlin-Levrone was not in the US team that finished second in 3:07.74 but will square off with the Dutchwoman in the 400m hurdles. Britain were third in 3:08.01.

American Ryan Crouser won an unprecedented third straight Olympic title in the shot put with a 22.90m throw, ahead of compatriot Joe Kovacs (22.15m). Jamaican Rajindra Campbell (22.15m) took bronze on countback.

“I’m just honoured. I feel so lucky to be out there competing,” he said, after a season in which he sustained two elbow injuries either side of a torn pectoral muscle.

“It took a lot to get back to where I had been in the past. It’s made it all the more special to be out there tonight. There were a lot of times I thought I might not be.”

Norway’s Markus Rooth won the decathlon with 8,796 points. Leo Neugebauer (8,748) of Germany was second, with Grenada’s Lindon Victor (8,711) third. AFP, REUTERS