Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred will return to familiar stomping grounds this weekend, opening the outdoor season with the 4x400m at the 97th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. She will team up with three of her training partners under the close watch of coach Edrick Floreal.
Team International won the hotly-contested invitational mile relay at last year’s meet in 3:25.31 with Saint Lucia’s Alfred, former world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain, Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, and Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas. They also produced the fastest 4×200 in history at 1:27.05.
A reloaded quartet will aim to repeat at the Mike A Myers Stadium on Saturday, as Alfred, Adeleke, and Asher-Smith are joined by Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith, a triple jump and long jump specialist.
Team International will go up against Athletics TX (Nicole Yeargin, Courtney Okolo, Kyra Constantine, Brianne Bethel), Empire Athletics, Hurdle Mechanic, Team USA Blue, and Team USA Red. Floreal’s squad will feature PUMA athletes Alfred and Smith, along with Nike athletes Adeleke and Asher-Smith.
Alfred’s exploits at the Texas Relays hark back to her time as a student-athlete at the University of Texas-Austin. She was on two successful teams in 2022 as a senior, helping set the 4x200m meet record.
In 2023, as a graduate student, she opened the outdoor season on three collegiate record relay teams. The Longhorns won the 4×100 (42.00), 4×200 (1:28.05), and the SMR (3:36.10), with Alfred running the lead-off leg in all three. She finished the weekend on the winning 4×400 team that ran the second-fastest time in school history at 3:23.27.
