Wanda Diamond League women’s 100m champion Julien Alfred is set to mount a defence of her historic 2024 title.
The Diamond League confirmed on Tuesday that the Edrick Foreal-coached sprinter will line up at meetings in Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden this June. It means the Paris Olympics gold medallist will spend her 24th birthday, June 10, in Europe.
Alfred said that these meets will be an essential part of her preparations for the 2025 World Athletics Championships, which will be held September 13-21 at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.
She noted that Diamond League appearances against the world’s best athletes would be crucial as she sets her sights on a first outdoor world title.
“The upcoming Diamond League season is very important because I won’t be having any trials for the World Championships” Alfred explained. “So, I hope these races put me closer to my goals for Japan.”
“Visiting the Scandinavian countries is one of my dreams. I look forward to feeling the hospitality from the Scandinavian spectators and hope to live up to the standard of these two meetings and to give them a memorable performance,” she added.
The speedster from Ciceron won gold in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships in 2024. She added Olympic gold in the 100m, silver in the 200m, and then the Diamond League title, all unprecedented achievements for Saint Lucia.
Alfred will compete at the Olympiastadion in the BAUHAUS Galan meet on June 12. She will then take the train with fellow athletes across the border to the Swedish capital for the Bislett Games at the Bislett Stadion on June 15.
The Wanda Diamond League is the elite one-day meeting series in global athletics. It comprises 15 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes compete for points at the 14 series meetings in a bid to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final, which will be held in Zurich on August 27-28.
