As the world awaits the announcement of the 2024 World Athletics Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, CANOC President Keith Joseph has expressed pride and support for St Lucia’s Julien Alfred, a finalist for the prestigious award alongside the USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The award decision will be revealed on December 1, marking a historic moment for the Caribbean athlete, who already secured gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m at the Paris Olympics.
Joseph highlighted the significance of Alfred’s accomplishment, noting her meteoric rise from a small island with a population of under 150,000. “For the very first time in decades, a Caribbean athlete, not from any of the larger islands, and with a population of less than 150,000, is among the finalists. We are here referring to St Lucia’s track and field gem, Julien Alfred… who has literally stormed into the sporting history of her native land,” he stated.
Joseph traced Alfred’s journey from her early promise in athletics to her dominance at the CARIFTA Games, the NCAA Division 1, the World Athletics Indoor Championships, and the Central American and Caribbean Games, describing her victory in Paris as a “feat of pure beauty, grace, incredible confidence, and impeccable timing.”
Reflecting on the history of Caribbean success in track and field, Joseph drew parallels to other trailblazing athletes from the region. He recalled Arthur Wint’s first Olympic gold for Jamaica in 1948, Hasely Crawford’s 1976 win for Trinidad and Tobago, and this year’s historic achievements with the national anthems of Dominica and St Lucia being played for the first time at the Olympics. “In Paris, two of our region’s smallest islands – Dominica and St Lucia - had their anthems played for the first time at the Olympic Games. It was track and field athletics yet again,” Joseph said.
Joseph also acknowledged the achievements of other Caribbean athletes across various disciplines, especially those who have overcome unique challenges from small island nations. “We are generally considered small, even micro in some cases, but we are aware of which nations in our midst are the smallest and the very special challenges they face,” he emphasized.
In closing, Joseph extended CANOC’s full support for Alfred as she aims to etch her name in history as the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year. “We extend best wishes to Julien Alfred in her quest to win the coveted title of World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year 2024. We certainly hope that she has the benefit of the votes of all of our members, etching her name in yet more sporting history in 2024,” he concluded.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Julien Alfred misses out on World Athletics Track Athlete of the Year as McLaughlin-Levrone takes top honour
St. Lucia’s sprint sensation Julien Alfred missed out on the prestigious World Athletics Female Track Athlete of the Year award, as Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone claimed the title during the 2024 World Athletics Awards in Monaco. The event celebrated the year's finest performances across multiple categories, culminating in the crowning of Sifan Hassan and Letsile Tebogo as the overall World Athletes of the Year.
Alfred, who enjoyed a breakthrough year highlighted by her dominance on the track and consistent record-breaking performances, was among the standout nominees in the women’s track category. However, the honor went to McLaughlin-Levrone, who set two world records in the 400m hurdles—clocking 50.65 and 50.37—while claiming double gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the hurdles and the 4x400m relay.
The awards ceremony was a celebration of excellence, with McLaughlin-Levrone joining an elite roster of winners that included Hassan, who won three medals at the Paris Olympics, including marathon gold in an Olympic record of 2:22:55. Tebogo made history as the first athlete from Botswana to win Olympic gold, taking the 200m title in a blistering African record of 19.46.
Field athletes Mondo Duplantis and Yaroslava Mahuchikh were also honored, having set new world records in the pole vault and high jump, respectively, while marathon champions Tamirat Tola and Hassan took the out-of-stadium awards. Rising Stars Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia and Mattia Furlani of Italy were celebrated for their promising performances.
Although Alfred did not clinch the track award, her achievements in 2024, including multiple podium finishes and record times, solidify her status as one of the sport's rising stars. Her remarkable consistency and ability to shine on the world stage have made her a source of pride for St. Lucia and the Caribbean. Fans and analysts alike anticipate her continued growth and potential to claim top honors in future seasons.
The night served as a reminder of the incredible talent across athletics, with World Athletics President Sebastian Coe praising all the nominees and winners for "redefining what is possible in terms of athletic performance." As the sport looks ahead to another exciting year, athletes like Julien Alfred remain key figures in shaping its future.
Alfred named AW International Female Athlete of the Year
The accolades keep coming for Saint Lucia’s queen of sprinting, Julien Alfred with the announcement on Friday that she has been voted as the Athletics Weekly (AW) International Female Athlete of the Year for 2024.
Over an elite field including Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, Faith Kipyegon, and Beatrice Chebet, the USA’s Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the 23-year-old Ciceron native won the vote of the fans of one of the world’s premier Athletics publications.
The University of Texas graduate started the year with 60m gold at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow and went on to win Olympic 100m gold and 200m silver in Paris in August as well as the Wanda Diamond League 100m crown.
Since her season ended in September, she has been recognised by the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) for her exploits in Paris.
Alfred is also a finalist for the World Athletics Track Athlete of the Year, along with McLaughlin-Levrone. The Track Athlete of the Year will be announced at the World Athletics Gala next month.
Dora Henry takes charge of St Lucia Athletics with bold vision for development
Newly elected president of St Lucia Athletics, Dora Henry, has outlined an ambitious plan to build on the legacy established by Olympian Julien Alfred, whose historic achievements in 2024 have propelled St Lucia onto the global athletics stage. Henry was elected last weekend, succeeding Brendaline DesCartes, who stepped down due to other commitments.
Henry inherits an organization riding high on Alfred’s unprecedented success, which included winning the World Indoor 60m title in Glasgow, the Olympic 100m gold medal in Paris, and the Diamond League 100m title in Zurich. Alfred, the first St Lucian to achieve these feats, was honored with a EC$1 million award, a statue, and the renaming of St Lucia’s main highway in her name.
“Some of the short-term goals would be to develop more grassroots programmes, even athlete development and support,” Henry said. “I know I have a huge task in my hand because of the success of the Olympic medals, everybody thinks it is possible so creating the avenues for our athletes to develop via workshops, camps just to maintain the momentum and even reviewing our athletes’ performances to identify our strengths and areas where we could improve.”
From left to right: Back row: PRO Jonathan Emmanuel, Secretary Wayne Benti, Treasurer Cornelius Breen. Front Row: Floor Representatives- Lisa Joseph, Laricia Laurent, Asst. Secretary Cornelia Ann Shirley Lubin, 2nd Vice President - Patrick Mathurin, President - Dora Henry
Henry is focused on strengthening grassroots programs, enhancing elite athlete development, and ensuring that young athletes in schools are better integrated into the sport through community engagement and targeted initiatives.
“Again, a lot of community engagement, meet with our athletes, the young ones, develop programmes for them, promote athletics in our schools, launching tournaments. I have a lot to get done in the short term but taking things step by step, day by day,” she added.
A key challenge Henry aims to address is the lack of certified infrastructure and sufficient resources for athletes on the island. “Our infrastructure and resources, we don’t have the best; our main stadium is currently not certified and is not in the best state. However, we have to continue to conduct our assessment of our facilities and some of our equipment.”
Henry also plans to prioritize coaching education, an area she feels is critical for long-term athlete development. “As we speak, we do not have a large pool of qualified coaches. It has been my desire to push for the education of our coaches. It is our hope to push our coaches to educate themselves, get the training opportunities so they can do better with training our athletes. So, for sure education and training is top on our mandate.”
First Vice President Makeba Alcide
To achieve her goals, Henry is committed to collaborating with key stakeholders, including the government and local communities. “One of our top priorities is to ensure that we have those connections with the government of St Lucia and Minister of Youth Development and Sports. Early on in our term we will be having those meetings with key stakeholders to ensure we get all that we plan to get those opportunities for our young athletes.”
Henry believes the momentum generated by Alfred’s success provides an ideal foundation to implement these changes and raise the profile of athletics in St Lucia. With her leadership, she hopes to not only sustain but also expand the sport’s impact on the island and beyond.
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