Second Olympic medal for Alfred

Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Thomas has rarely tasted defeat over the past two years. The fourth-fastest woman ever over 200m, and a five-time Diamond League champion, the one thing she did not have on her curriculum vitae is a global title. On Tuesday afternoon at the Stade de France in Paris, Thomas finally crossed that off her bucket list, defeating Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred in the final of the women’s 200m in the Olympic Games. But Alfred added her second Olympic medal nonetheless. The 23-year-old Saint Lucian had made history twice already this year. She ran herself into the record books by winning the women’s 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. She followed that up with a 100m win last Saturday at the Olympic Games, Saint Lucia’s first medal ever at the Olympics. Alfred’s silver medal came in 22.06 seconds after an electric start, the fastest in the field. Lined up in Lane 7, she led Thomas briefly, but the classy 27-year-old American caught her by the straight, powering through to a winning time of 21.83 for gold. Alfred, hailing from the community of Ciceron, has had a remarkable year. It’s been a breakout season for her, even after...