Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred has added another major accolade to her burgeoning curriculum vitae, winning the women’s 100m title at the Wanda Diamond League Final on Friday at the Boudewijnstadion in Brussels. Alfred, the Olympic 100m champion, ran a time of 10.88 seconds to lift her first-time professional crown.
Alfred wins USD 30,000, the prestigious diamond trophy, and gets a wildcard spot for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Japan, meaning she had already punched her ticket to the next global stage.
Second was Alfred’s training partner, Dina Asher-Smith, of Great Britain, in 10.92 seconds, ahead of Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith in 11.05 seconds. Britain’s Daryll Neita ran 11.14 for fourth, whilst Sha’Carri Richardson of the USA was well out of the picture in eighth.
“I am so happy, it feels amazing to finish my season on a good note and to take the win,” said Alfred. “I am just so proud of myself. My preparation was a bit difficult, it was really hard for me after Zurich. But I think that actually prepared me for Brussels. That gave me the energy to do so good today.
“And during the race I tried to relax and to enjoy the last race of my season. But I think losing kind of put me up again, I had to perform. I wanted to prove to myself that I deserve to be here and that I am not a one time thing. Because after Zurich I watched the race on YouTube to analyze my race and I read some comments that said I was a one time thing and that´s really not nice to say.
“But I was here to prove to myself that I can win. But sometimes those comments can be very hard. And now I am going back to Saint Lucia and to Aruba! Last year I stayed in Austin but not this year.”
Alfred and Richardson came in as the headliners. They had met six times before Friday, sharing the last three major global titles between them. Richardson, 24, won the 2023 World Championships 100m title and got silver in the 200m in Budapest. Alfred, 23, mirrored that feat at the Olympic Games in 2024, when Richardson also got silver in the 100m.
Alfred also became the World Indoors 60m champion earlier this year in Glasgow, demonstrating her tremendous burst out of the blocks, and cementing her reputation as one of the top athletes over that distance all time, with the second-fastest time ever, and one of just eight athletes under seven seconds on multiple occasions.
Alfred’s run of 10.72 seconds at Paris 2024 made her the eighth fastest woman ever, all the more remarkable due to the wet conditions and lack of wind. Richardson had 10.65 to win in Budapest, making her the joint fifth-fastest run of all time, also without wind assistance.
Those runs were also the joint 40th fastest and joint 11th fastest in history.
Alfred’s 10.72 was also the second-fastest of the year, against behind Richardson, whose 10.71 at Hayward Field in Oregon, USA, was her 10th time under the 10.80 barrier. But with a lifetime record of 4-3 against her American rival, and three titles this season, Alfred has ended her first full year as a professional on an unquestionable high.
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