An American sprint icon has opened up about the qualities that make Julien Alfred a better sprinter to carry the day at the 2025 World Championships over Gabby Thomas and Sha’Carri Richardson.Justin Gatlin believes that reigning Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred will be the athlete to watch next season when it comes to the 100m and 200m.
The American sprint legend pointed out that Julien Alfred showed her potential at the Paris Olympic Games, a year after turning professional. Gatlin observed the fact that she dominated the NCAA and maintained her hot streak to impress at the Olympics is a sign that she is just getting started.
Julien Alfred claimed the 100m Olympic title, beating reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson to second place and she also claimed a silver behind Gabby Thomas in the women’s 200m. Justin Gatlin explained that the fact that the St. Lucien athlete is talented in both the 100m and 200m is also a reason for her opponents to watch out.“I think right now, she (Julien Alfred) does have the biggest upswing in this situation because she’s a true duel threat too. She can run the 200m very well, you know, I’ve watched her progression from college and how she dominated in that realm and then she went on to professional and what I saw was a very traditional acclamation to the professional world,” Justin Gatlin said.
“She knew what she was dealing with in the NCAA world, now when she came over here, she still had a really good breakout season and it fared very well and I think going into her sophomore season, she understood what she needed to get done.”
The four-time world champion added that Julien Alfred was disappointed in her 2023 season and made sure that when she came to the 2024 season, she would be ready to take it all in.At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the world indoor 60m champion finished fourth in the 200m final and fifth in the 100m final. She went on to end her season at the global showpiece.
This season, Julien Alfred showed up even after the Olympics, finishing second at the Diamond League Meeting in Zurich and capping off her season with the diamond trophy at the Diamond League Meeting final in Brussels.
Gatlin pointed out that training under Coach Edrick Floreal is also a huge boost since he is one of the best tacticians. However, he did not rule out Sha’Carri Richardson also looking for revenge, explaining that Dennis Mitchell is also a great coach. “She had things that she hadn’t checked off her bucket list since the first season and she had to go back and do them. She was disappointed and she also said it, she was disappointed in herself for her first rookie season and she needed to make sure he corrected that and he did,” Justin Gatlin said.
