Julien Alfred wins gold in Women's 100M Final at Paris 2024 Olympics

Julien Alfred won gold at the Women’s 100M final at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Saturday, finishing with a blazing 10.72-second performance. It’s the first Olympic Gold Medal in Saint Lucia history

Sha’Carri Richardson finished with a silver medal finish, while Melissa Jefferson earned bronze during the contest. Richardson ran a 10.87 while Jefferson finished in 10.92 seconds.

The field for the final consisted of the following eight Olympians: Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia), Sha’Carri Richardson (USA), Tia Clayton (Jamaica), Daryll Neita (Great Britain), Melissa Jefferson (USA), Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith (Ivory Coast), Mijunga Kambundji (Switzerland) and Twanisha Terry (USA).

It was raining in Paris on the track at Stade de France, but Alfred remained in front the whole way. Richardson, the 2023 World Champion, where she trailed mightily in the middle of the race before battling her way back for silver. Jefferson was right there with them to give the United States two spots on the podium.

Notably, Jamiaca’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price withdrew from her semifinal heat after posting the second-best time in the first round of races on Friday. She was looking (and expected) to medal in the event for a fifth-straight Olympics — something that had never been done before. Instead, she watched on as the rest of the field took to the track.

The final race was just as competitive as some of the semifinal rounds. Alfred and Richardson challenged each other in their respective semifinal heat with Alfred getting the better of the former LSU star by five hundredths of a second.

For Richardson, it’s the first Olympic medal of any kind in her career. The medal-winning performance completes a story of redemtion for the 24-year-old superstar. Richardson was originally supposed to make her Olympics debut in the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo after finishing first in the United States Olympic Trials. Shortly thereafter, Richardson tested positive for THC. She was suspended four weeks and ruled ineligible to compete in Tokyo.

Alfred will be back in action on Sunday at 4:55 a.m. ET to ocmpete in Heat 1 of the Women’s 200M, which is her last competition of the Olympics. For Richardson, she only planned on competing in the 100M. Instead, she’ll continue her search for her first gold medal on her home soil in Los Angeles in 2028.

For the rest of Track & Field action, it will continue through the final day of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Aug. 11.