“I never run against anyone” - Julien Alfred brushes off ‘rivalry’ claims with Sha'Carri Richardson ahead of Brussels Diamond League Final

Olympic Champion Julien Alfred will take on World Champion Sha'Carri Richardson one last time in 2024 before she wraps up her season, and fans are excited for the impending showdown between the two at the Brussels Diamond League Final. However, in a recent interview, the 23-year-old denied claims of rivalry with her American counterpart.

Hailing from Saint Lucia, Alfred moved to Jamaica alone when she was just 14, to further her career as a sprinter. In 2018 she moved to the US to train and compete for the University of Texas. She thrived with the Longhorns and had her breakout season in 2023, qualifying for the World Championships where she finished fifth and fourth in the 100 and 200m respectively.

Julien Alfred began her Olympic year with a gold in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships. At the Paris Olympics, Alfred took down reigning World Champion Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m final, clinching Saint Lucia's first-ever Olympic medal.

Post the Olympics, Richardson got even when the two sprinters raced at the Zurich Diamond League, outdoing Alfred by four-hundredths of a second for the win.

Now, as they prepare to face each other one final time in 2024, Julien Alfred denied wanting revenge against the American, telling Athletics Weekly,

“I don’t want to use the word revenge. I never run against anyone, I do it for myself and just want to finish the season in style. For the same reason, I’m not focused on times either.”

Julien Alfred vs Sha’Carri Richardson: Head-to-head record

Julien Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson's impending clash at the Brussels Diamond League Final allows the two sprinters to emerge on top in their head-to-head records. So far, the duo have raced each other six times, each having won three battles.

The first time Alfred and Richardson crossed swords was at the Gyulai István Memorial in 2023, where the Saint Lucian emerged victorious in a dominant fashion. The American had her revenge taken in their next two clashes, beating Alfred at both the 2023 World Championships, and the 2024 Prefontaine Classic.

Julien Alfred came back stronger in Paris, beating Richardson twice at the Games, once in the heats, and once in the finals. Since then, her rival has upped her game, taking the win at their most recent clash, the Zurich Diamond League.