ARKANSAS, United States – Reigning Olympic women’s 100 metre champion, Julien Alfred began her 2026 season in impressive fashion by sprinting to gold in the 60 metres over the weekend.
Julien AlfredCompeting at the Woo Pig Classic at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Alfred crossed the finish line in 7.00 seconds, way ahead of the University of Arkansas’ duo of Asia Thomas (7.37) and Taejha Badal (7.41), who took second and third place, respectively.
It is the fastest time in the world this year in the event, bettering her time of 7.04 which she ran in the preliminaries.
More impressively, it was the 24-year-old Saint Lucian’s first time competing in a 60 metres in 707 days, dating back to when she took gold at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland in March 2024.
It was also her first competitive race since the World Athletic Championships in Tokyo last September, where she claimed bronze in the 100 metres.
Alfred has promised to take part in this year’s World Indoor Championships, which will be held in March in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland, where she says she will take aim at the world record of 6.92 seconds held by Russia’s Irina Privalova.
