"Julien Alfred wasn’t beating Gabby Thomas" - Fans react after concerns about exhaustion due to less rest between events at Paris Olympics emerge

Julien Alfred created history at the Paris Olympics 2024 when she won Saint Lucia's first-ever Olympic medal in the 100m event in 10.72s. She also won a silver medal in the women's 200m, despite being in the lead for the most part. Fans have reacted to fresh claims that the 23-year-old did not get enough rest between the two events.

Apparently, Julien Alfred didn't get enough time to rest since the preliminaries of the 200m began just a day after the finals of the 100m, which was held on 3 August. By the time the finals of the 200m started, Alfred was extremely exhausted.

According to a post by blogger Track Spice on their X account [formerly Twitter],

".....Julian Alfred wasn't just battling her opponents; she was battling exhaustion. In a candid interview, she revealed the grueling conditions she endured : six races in five days, with barely any rest in between. 'Six races in five days take it out of you,' Alfred confessed, highlighting a glaring disparity in the event schedule - men got a rest day, women didn't."

Fans reacted to this and expressed their thoughts on X.

"She wasn't beating Gabby [Thomas]. Gabby has ran faster in life and in this year. She was fortunate she caught Sha'Carri slipping but Miss Thomas was not to be denied", commented one user.

"It don't leave me wondering a mf thing. I was only wondering what would've happened if Shelly Ann Pryce ran nothing more", said another user.

"Seriously the officials who set the timings need to get fired forever I mean forever" said one user.

"Thomas gave her a headstart in London and she still came second. There are just levels to the 200m game", revealed one user.

"Would be nice if the schedule was more rest friendly but Gabby was winning gold either way but JuJu's individual performance could have benefitted from a better schedule" suggested one user.

Julien Alfred had cruised to the finals of women's 200m only days after winning the gold medal in 100m. She was leading the way in the 200m race as well until Gabby Thomas surged from behind to win the Olympic gold medal with a timing of 21.83 seconds.

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Julien Alfred's performances at the Paris Olympics

Gabby Thomas of USA hugs Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia after winning the 200m finals at Paris Olympics 2024 [Image Source: Getty]

Before the Paris Olympics, Julien Alfred's best performance was a silver medal at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics 2018 in girls' 100m and a silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 in women's 100m.

With a personal best of 10.93 seconds, Alfred was a strong contender for a podium finish, but not among the top contenders for an Olympic gold medal. However, she surprised everyone by finishing on the top in the semifinals, with a new personal best of 10.84 seconds.

Julian Alfred had saved the best for the last, i.e. the finals of the 100m. From the word go, Alfred surged ahead and by the time Sha'Carri Richardson could catch up, the sprinter from Saint Lucia had already created history. With a new national record of 10.72 seconds, Julian Alfred won the first-ever Olympic medal for Saint Lucia.

However, this was just the beginning. Julian Alfred topped both her heats as well as the semifinals to attempt a historic 'Golden Double' for Saint Lucia. But Gabby Thomas of the USA was equally determined towards the same.

In the finals, Alfred was leading when Thomas surged from behind to take the gold medal with a timing of 21.83 seconds. Julian Alfred took home the silver medal with a timing of 22.08 seconds, while Brittany Brown of the USA took home the bronze medal with a timing of 22.20 seconds.