Texas Track and Field Standout Julien Alfred Wins First Ever Gold for St. Lucia

The 23-year-old Texas Longhorn made Olympic history for her country of St. Lucia by winning gold in the 100-meter sprint.

Jun 10, 2023; Austin, TX, USA; Julien Alfred of Texas celebrates after winning the women's 200m in a wind-aided 21.73 during the NCAA Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The fastest woman in the world is a Texas Longhorn.

Darting across the washed-out track of Stade de France on Saturday, 23-year-old Julien Alfred stunned spectators across the globe at the Paris Olympics in the 100-meter sprint with her time of 10.72 seconds, capturing St. Lucia's first medal in any sport. And it was gold.

She also passed favorited first-place finisher and Team USA representative Sha'Carri Richardson by .15 seconds, the largest margin in the Olympic 100-meter since 2008.

A video posted on 'X' revealed the roar of cheers and citizens of Castries, the capital of St. Lucia, embracing one another after Alfred crossed the finish line. The island sits on the edge of the eastern Caribbean Sea, and is home to nearly 181,000 people, all who can now celebrate history being made thanks to Alfred.

Saint Lucia had never won an Olympic medal, ever, until this evening.

The people of Castries gathered to watch Julien Alfred in the women’s 100m final.

You love to see it. 🇱🇨 pic.twitter.com/EjYgb6oDhe

— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) August 3, 2024

Alfred mentioned in a press conference following her victory that her success couldn't have come without the support of Texas track and field head coach Edrik Floréal.

"I was feeling so hard on myself and feeling so much pressure, feeling like I have to go out there and represent my country and seeing the number of people supporting me, but he helped me turn that pressure into motivation," Alfred said. "He's been my rock, he's been there with me for the ups and the downs, through the hard times, I'm just happy he never gave up on me."

Being recruited by Floréal in 2019, Alfred spent five indoor and outdoor seasons with the Longhorns, helping her team secure the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor National Championship title in her final year with the program.

She was named the 2023 NCAA National Track Athlete of the Year and 2023 USTFCCCA Women's Track Athlete of the Year after claiming champion status in four separate events, becoming a record holder in two of them, and ranking No. 2 and No. 4 historically in the NCAA for the 200-meter and 400-meter sprints, respectively.

Although the U.S. was left with a silver medal, it was another win for Texas, which currently has 10 medals from university alumni and students.