Brand-new Olympic Champion Julien Alfred and reigning World Champion Sha'Carri Richardson are the top favourites in the 100 metres at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Friday night. Last week in Zurich, at the final qualifying meet of the Wanda Diamond League, the American got lucky. “I don't want to use the word revenge,” Alfred says. “I never run against anyone, I do it for myself and just want to finish the season in style. For the same reason, I'm not focused on times either.”
That does not mean Alfred is not ambitious, on the contrary. In her young life, she has already made a lot of sacrifices to be where she is today. “When I was 14, I moved from Saint Lucia to Jamaica,” Alfred shares about the start of her athletics career. “Leaving my mum and siblings behind. My dad died when I was 12. My mum had put a note in my suitcase that read ‘follow your dream’.” And that's what Julien Alfred did. In Jamaica, and later in Texas, she worked very hard towards her dream of becoming a top professional athlete.
The dream was even more specific than that. “I’ve always wanted to be Usain Bolt, ever since I was little,” Alfred reveals. “He was more than my idol. It's incredible what he has achieved in his career. Unfortunately, I have never met him. I also look up to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce very much.”
Kim Gevaert, still the Belgian record holder in the 100 metres who has been Allianz Memorial Van Damme’s Meeting Director for several years now, is not surprised that 2024 has become the year of Julien Alfred's big breakthrough. “We have seen it coming for years now, the strong times she ran, her fifth place at the World Championships last year, the progress she kept making. At the Olympics, she was my top favourite for gold. She also has a very nice running style. It's a joy to see her in action,” Gevaert said. “Thank you for this nice compliment, very nice to hear,” Alfred beamed during the press conference.
Friday evening at 21:01hrs, everyone will be able to enjoy that beautiful running style and the duel with Richardson in the final of the 100 metres of the Wanda Diamond League on the first evening of the Allianz Memorial Van Damme. 70,000 tickets have already been sold for both nights. This means the Memorial breaks its own ticket record and that of all previous Wanda Diamond League finals. Nevertheless, tickets are still available in several categories.
