Julien Alfred has emphasized that her focus was on enjoying herself after securing second place behind Sha’Carri Richardson at the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich.
The reigning Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred, has responded to her 100m loss to Sha’Carri Richardson at the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich.
The St. Lucian sprinter entered the race as a favorite but had to settle for second place in a tightly contested event, with Richardson claiming victory.
Richardson finished in 10.84 seconds, ahead of Olympic 200m silver medallist Alfred, who completed the race in 10.88 seconds. Alfred’s teammate, Olympic silver medallist Dina Asher-Smith, finished third with a time of 10.89 seconds.
In a post-race interview, Alfred shared that she was focused on having fun and not feeling pressured as she looks forward to the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels. She mentioned that after the Olympics, she returned to training without much opportunity to relax.
“It felt good, right now I’m just really having fun and trying to finish strong. I’ve relaxed for a few days but I’ve really not gotten a chance to take it all in yet. I went back to Texas…It’s been up and down and I’m still working on fine-tuning and still working on all that stuff,” she told Citius Mag.
Regarding the upcoming race in Brussels, Alfred said she does not feel significant pressure and is focused on finishing strong.
She added that her primary goal is to stay healthy and, once the season concludes, return home to celebrate her Olympic successes.
“I’m not going to double in Brussels…I have nothing in particular but I just want to finish strong and healthy, that’s what I care about. I just want to celebrate with my country when I go back home,” she said.
