"I should've run it all out" - Julien Alfred on how she could have beaten Gabby Thomas for the 200m gold at Paris Olympics

St. Lucia's first Olympic champion, Julien Alfred, recently reflected on her 200m finals loss to the American runner Gabby Thomas and analyzed how she could have won the race against her. Alfred took home the silver in the 200m event, finishing behind the American sprinter after clocking 22.08s.

The 23-year-old from Ciceron, Saint Lucia, participated in the maiden Olympic Games of her career this year in Paris and stunned the track and field world with a remarkable victory over the top contender Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m event. She sprinted through the Stade de France and claimed the gold medal with a time of 10.72 seconds.

Alfred's victory also marked St. Lucia's first-ever medal in the Olympic Games. Following the 100m triumph, the Caribbean sensation faced a formidable lineup including Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown, and Dina Asher-Smith, among others, for the 200m final. However, this time around she narrowly missed out on gold, finishing second with a time of 22.08, while Thomas claimed the win with 21.83 seconds.

Discussing her 200m loss to Gabby Thomas, Julien Alfred recently broke down her approach to the finals in a conversation with SportsMax TV on their YouTube channel on October 12. Sharing insights into her mindset, Alfred said she approached the 200m finals with the same focus as the 100m and went too much into the details.

"I think my mentality going to the [200m] final wasn't the same. So I'm really going to just try to change, and then I was just overthinking the final, like trying to think of each phase, and it was a lot happening. I should have just run it all out, and if Gabby catches me then so be," Alfred said [18:12 onwards].

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"I don’t feel like I’ve made it yet" - Julien Alfred 'going for more' in her track running career

Julien Alfred at the Diamond League Final 2024 (Source: Getty)

Julien Alfred reflected on her track and field career thus far and noted that she does not feel as though she has truly arrived yet. She also mentioned that there are certain titles that she wants to achieve in the future. She said (via SportsMax):

"I don’t feel like I’ve made it yet. There are accolades that I still want in my life and my career. Yes, I accomplished an Olympic gold, World Indoors, Diamond League final winner but I don’t have accolades in the World Championships outdoors yet," Julien Alfred said.

In recognition of her Olympic achievements, Alfred received a hero's welcome in St. Lucia, and September 27 has been designated as 'Julien Alfred Day' by the nation's government.