Julien Alfred honored with national public holiday on her name in Saint Lucia after beating Sha'Carri Richardson for 100m gold at Paris Olympics

Saint Lucian double Olympic medalist Julien Alfred is set to be honored with a dedicated day to celebrate her Olympic victory at the Paris Games. Alfred won the first-ever Olympic medal for her country.

23-year-old Alfred etched her name in the history books on August 4 after she defeated the heavy favorite Sha'carri Richardson in a 100m faceoff at the Paris Olympics. Alfred won the gold with a time of 10.72 seconds to edge out Richardson, who finished second after crossing the finish line in 10.87 seconds.

The victory not only marked the first Olympic medal for the sprinter but also recorded the first-ever medal for the eastern Caribbean island with 180,000 population. Furthermore, the St. Lucian phenom went on to claim a silver in the 200m race three days later, on August 7. Alfred finished second with a time of 22.08 seconds, behind USA's Gabby Thomas who won the gold with a time of 21.83 seconds.

To honor her Olympic glory, Saint Lucia's Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced on Tuesday (September 10) that September 27th will be celebrated as the "Julien Alfred Day." Rhyesa Joseph, a user on X, shared the update on their account and wrote:

"According to The Saint Lucia Times the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Philip J. Pierre announced that September 27 will be declared “Julien Alfred Day,” a national holiday in her honor."

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"Always wanted to be Saint Lucia’s first Olympic gold medallist" - Julien Alfred's thoughts on her Paris Olympics achievement

Julien Alfred pictured at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 (Image via Getty)

Speaking about her Olympic victory, Julien Alfred said that growing up she always dreamed of winning an Olympic medal both for herself and her country.

Alfred broke onto the scene following her silver medal victory at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. However, she was not sure of her chances of becoming an Olympian at the time, but it later turned out to be a manifestation that came true.

"I wasn’t sure how to look at myself at that time, whether as a young Olympian or not. But I think that was the beginning of something great… that also influenced my choices, coming into college," she stated (via Olympics.com).

At the World Indoor Championships in March, the Ciceron native made history following her 60m gold medal victory at the World Indoor Championships, marking St. Lucia's first-ever medal at a global track and field event.