Women's 100m upset gives St. Lucia its first Olympic medal in history

Julien Alfred's win in the women's 100m dash at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday night was one of the more surprising performances of this year's games.

Not only because she upset American (and heavy favorite) Sha'Carri Richardson, but also because she gave island nation of St. Lucia its first Olympic medal. Of any kind. Ever. It also just so happened to be a gold medal.

Alfred ran the 100m in 10.72 seconds, the eighth-fastest women's time in history. Richardson took home the silver medal with a time of 10.87 seconds while fellow American Melissa Jefferson took home the bronze at 10.92 seconds.

Richardson entered the competition as one of the favorites to win, an outcome that became even more likely when Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was unable to compete in the semifinals race due to an apparent injury. Richardson was not only looking to claim America's first gold in the 100m since 1996, but also find redemption after she was barred from competing in the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive test for THC.

Prior to her sprint for gold, Alfred narrowly defeated Richardson in their semifinal heat, which set the stage for her upset win. St. Lucia, a small island nation in the Caribbean Sea, has been competing in the Olympics since 1996 and has consistently sent a minimum of two Olympians in every games since. The country had just never made its way to a podium until Saturday. That gold came in one of the top events of the Paris Games and kicked off a massive celebration back home.