Alfred to contend for gold again

Julien Alfred is drawn next to double global sprint medallist Gabrielle Thomas of the USA for Tuesday’s women’s 200m final. The top two athletes going into the Paris Olympics, both qualified for the medal round in straightforward manner on Monday. An Olympic champion already in the  100m, the 21-year-old Saint Lucian was drawn in Heat 1 of the semifinals, next to the American, Mckenzie Long. Long and Thomas are the only women to have run faster than Alfred this year. This time around, though, there was no catching the history-making woman from Ciceron. She took command of the race on the curve, and cruised home, staving off a challenge from Nigeria’s Favor Ofili on the home straight. Alfred ran 21.98 seconds, which turned out to be the second fastest time on the evening, behind only the American, Thomas. Come the final, 3:40 pm Tuesday Eastern Caribbean Time, Alfred will go in Lane 8, with Ofili outside her in 9. Thomas is in 7, Long in 2. Dina Asher-Smith, Alfred’s training partner, lines up in 4. & The article Alfred to contend for gold again is from St. Lucia Times.