Julien Alfred Awaiting God’s Plan, Ecstatic Over Welcome Home

All eyes have been on Julien Alfred since the star athlete returned to Saint Lucia on Tuesday, September 24. How the island would honour her historic performance at the Paris Olympics had been a subject of public discourse for some time. It was finally settled this past week when the region and sports enthusiasts worldwide witnessed Saint Lucian’s emphatic salutations of Alfred during a pre-scheduled, nearly seven-hour-long motorcade across the island upon her arrival. In the days that followed, there were school rallies, private events, an official signing ceremony as she accepted the role of tourism ambassador, a home-community visit, and, to culminate, a concert held specifically in her honour on Friday, September 27 2024—Julien Alfred Day. When asked her thoughts on the four-day-long homecoming celebrations, the 23-year-old told a room of reporters on Friday night, “10/10, I loved it. Unexpected, overwhelming … It was crazy.” Earlier that night, Alfred had been showered with gifts from corporations and the Saint Lucia government, including cash totaling XCD 1 115 000 and a 10 720 square feet parcel of land. She will also have a stamp designed in her honour, a series of exercise books bearing her photo, a section of the...