Has Julien Alfred overtaken Sha'Carri Richardson as the face of women's 100m? Comparing their 2024 seasons

Sha'Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred have established themselves as two of the best sprinters in the world following the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both athletes brought laurels to their respective nations by becoming multiple medalists at the Paris Olympics.

Last year, Richardson made a statement at the World Athletics Championships by becoming the world champion in the 100m, a bronze medalist in the 200m, and contributing to her team's gold medal finish in the women's 4x100m relay. As a result, she entered the Paris Olympics as a serious contender for the gold medal in the 100m race, already owning a season-best time of 10.71s.

She eventually bagged the silver medal in Paris, losing against Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred. However, Richardson accomplished her first-ever gold medal at the Olympics, playing an instrumental role in the USA's gold medal win in the 4x100m relay.

Julien Alfred also enjoyed a dream run in 2024, which started with winning gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Having shown her consistency throughout the season, Alfred won the second major title of her career by becoming the Olympic champion in the 100m in Paris with a sensational 10.72s run, thus winning the first-ever medal for her nation in the Olympics' history.

She then went on to take the silver in the 200m, finishing only behind Gabby Thomas. However, these weren't the only highlights for Alfred in 2024, as she concluded her season by claiming her first-ever Diamond League title in the 100m.

Although Richardson got past Alfred in the Zurich Diamond League meet, the latter grabbed her third significant crown at the Brussels Diamond League Final, finishing ahead of the former.

Based on how the season went for both, Julien Alfred has certainly overtaken Sha'Carri Richardson in the race of being the face in the 100m, which determines the fastest woman in the world, in 2024.

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Can Sha'Carri Richardson take the crown back from Julien Alfred in 2025?

Sha'Carri Richardson (Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Although the 2024 season didn't go the way Sha'Carri Richardson had wanted, the American is known for her comeback abilities. After being removed from the USA team for the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for the marijuana drug, she redeemed herself at the Worlds in Budapest with a remarkable outing.

Considering how she has fared in the past years, Richardson surely has the potential to bounce back in the 2025 season, be better than ever, and get the 100m crown back from Alfred.

Nevertheless, it will certainly go down to numerous nail-biting contests to determine the best between the two in the coming years.