Julien Alfred puts Sha’Carri Richardson in shade to win women’s Olympic 100m

When Julien Alfred was a young girl in St Lucia, she was asked who she wanted to be when she grew up. “The next Usain Bolt,” she replied. It was the boldest of ambitions, given that her tiny country had never won an Olympic medal and barely had any facilities. Yet on a delirious night in Paris, the 23-year-old delivered in the manner of the greatest sprinter of all-time: by powering away from US superstar Sha’Carri Richardson to claim Olympic gold.

As Alfred crossed the line in 10.72sec, a time that made her the eighth fastest woman in history, she held her hands in disbelief before ripping her bib off and pointing to her name. No one, surely, will ever forget it now after this quiet destruction.

Related: Julien Alfred rips up 100m script to write her name into Olympic history | Barney Ronay

Trailing in her wake was Richardson, the pre-race favourite, Netflix star and current world champion, who took silver in 10.87, while another American, Melissa Jefferson, took bronze in 10.92. Britain’s Daryll Neita was fourth in 10.96. “It’s super tough,” admitted Neita. “I was so close to that medal that I have dreamed of my whole life.”

But this was a night all about Alfred – and her extraordinary journey from a small Caribbean island with a population of around 180,000 to track and field’s newest superstar.

“Growing up I used to be on the field struggling with no shoes, running barefoot, running in my school uniform, running all over the place,” she explained. “We barely have the right facilities. The stadium is not fixed. I hope this gold medal will help St Lucia build a new stadium, to help the sport grow.”

Asked about how people back home would be celebrating, she smiled. “I’m sure they are having a time,” she added. “Playing music, celebrating, drinking beers.”

Alfred’s track and field career began when was first spotted at the age of six or seven by her PE teacher, who told her to race the boys in her year. She was soon beating them and honing her talents at a local club. Yet there were several bumps on the way too, most notably when she quit the sport at 12 after her father died.

But she was encouraged to return by her coach, and such was her ambition that she left for Jamaica by herself at 14. And it was Bolt, the biggest track and field star of all, who provided her with inspiration on the morning of this greatest triumph as she watched videos of his Olympic victories and started to believe she could take Richardson down.

“This morning I woke up and wrote it down, ‘Julien Alfred, Olympic champion’,” she added. “So I think believing in myself really was important.”

A few minutes before the race the rain suddenly started lashing down but Alfred always looked cool. The Jamaican Tina Clayton was away quickest. But within 30 metres Alfred was already leading and slipping away.

At that stage Richardson, having struggled out the blocks, knew her face was already run. Soon Alfred was roaring through the line in triumph.

“You don’t ever see me celebrate like that,” she admitted. “I’m just happy it happened in the biggest race of my career. I’m going to be honest. I watched Usain Bolt’s races this morning. I watched how he executed. I grew up watching him too.

“It feels amazing to win gold. I’m going through the motions right now. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I had to go out there, trust myself, trust my coach and most importantly trust God.”

Some might have been surprised at the result but the world of track and field has known for a while that the St Lucian has a blue-chip pedigree. A string of NCAA indoor and outdoor titles last year showed that. Winning the world indoor 60m in Glasgow in March reinforced it. And now she proved it beyond all doubt.

And what of Richardson? When this night began, most people were already mentally placing gold around the 24-year-old’s neck. She was the world champion. The fastest women in 2024. The athlete with the highest ceiling. But the demands of the Olympics bring pressures that can swallow even the greatest talent.

That was obvious before the race. As the camera panned to her in lane seven, the American looked desperately nervous. She then got a poor start, and she would have known within 30 metres that gold was already out of reach.

In truth, she looked like she had stage fright. When Richardson won the 2023 world title in Budapest she had been out in lane nine, away from the main protagonists. But there was no hiding place in lane seven, with Alfred alongside her.

Seeing Richardson in full stride is one of the great sights. Other sprinters might be more powerful but no one has her fluidity or freedom, or ability to bounce so rapidly off the track. But here she just looked raggedy. It means the wait for an American female 100m Olympic Games winner, which stretches back to 1996, continues.

Alfred, meanwhile, has the women’s 200m to think about before she can truly celebrate. Afterwards she dedicated this win to her dad, who believed that she could fulfil her dreams. “He passed away in 2013, and now he couldn’t get to see me on the biggest stage of my career,” she said. “But he’ll always be so boastful of his daughter being an Olympian.”

It was a beautiful sentiment, on a thrilling night.