Five-time 100m World Champion and recently crowned 2023 Laureus Sportswoman of the Year, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, has announced her return to the Kip Keino Classic scheduled for May 13^th in Nairobi.

The three-time Olympic Champion is returning to the meet where, last season, she opened her season with a spectacular 10.67, signaling her intent to put together what turned out to be the best season of her illustrious career which included her fifth World 100m title as well as the Diamond League title.

“I’m coming back to Nairobi! I’ll be in Nairobi on May 13^th for the Kip Keino Classic and I’ll be racing over the 100m,” Fraser-Pryce said in a post on Facebook.

“Last year was awesome. The stadium was filled with so much excitement and noise and it was so much fun. We’re going to rock that stadium like we did last year so make sure you get your tickets,” she added.

The sixth time is the charm for Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who on Monday was named 2022 Laureus Sportswoman of the Year in Paris.

The 36-year-old track star, considered the greatest female 100m sprinter of all time, was rewarded for an incredible season during which she won an unprecedented fifth 100m world title in Eugene, Oregon and created even more history by becoming the first woman to run under 10.7 seconds for the 100m, a record seven times in the same season. 

After opening her season in Nairobi, Kenya, the two-time Olympic gold medallist ran times of 10.67, 10.67, 10.66, 10.67, 10.62 and 10.65 to cap an amazing season.

She also won a fifth Diamond League 100m title during the season.

“I was thrilled to be nominated alongside such inspiring female athletes,” said Fraser-Pryce, who got the nod ahead of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, footballer Alexia Putellas, tennis star Iga Świątek, swimmer Katie Ledecky and alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin for the prestigious award.

“To win this award, voted for by some of the greatest sportsmen and women of all time, is just amazing. This is the sixth time I’ve been nominated in this category, so to finally hold the Laureus statuette in my hands is one of the greatest honours of my career.”

 Fraser-Pryce is the third Jamaican athlete to win the award. Elaine Thompson-Herah won in 2022 for her exploits in 2021, while Usain Bolt won in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2017.

Oblique Seville topped a quality field in the 100m at the Adidas Atlanta City Games at Centennial Olympic Park on Saturday where Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards won his 150m dash and Ashanti Moore ran a new personal best in the Women’s 100m.

Seville, who earlier this year, expressed a desire to run faster than his lifetime best of 9.86, clocked 9.99 to win the blue-ribbon sprint in a close race with South Africa’s Akani Simbine and Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes.

Simbini and Hughes were awarded a time of 10.01, but the South African crossed the line in 10.005 to Hughes’ 10.010.

Ryiem Forde of Jamaica ran a personal best of 10.07 for fourth.

The Women’s race was not also close as Aleia Hobbs ran 10.99, a mere 0.003 ahead of compatriot Mikiah Brisco’s 11.02. Jamaica’s Ashanti Moore replicated her personal best from the preliminary round with another 11.10 clocking for third place.

It was the second lifetime best for Moore in as many weeks as she ran a personal best 22.49 over 200m a week ago.

Richards won the 150m ‘B’ final in a time of 14.83 over the USA duo of Chris Royster (14.89) and Brandon Carnes (14.97).

They were not nearly as fast as the 14.56 run by 200m World Champion Noah Lyles in his 150m race. Teen prodigy Erriyon Knighton was second in 14.85 while Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala was third in 14.89, just ahead of Jamaica’s Antonio Watson’s 14.93.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Remona Burchell finished second in the Women’s 150m ‘B’ race.

The three-time NCAA champion clocked 16.73 to finish behind Angie Angus, who crossed the finish line in 16.58. Lauren Ann Williams was third in 16.86.

Tamari Davis won the ‘A’ final in a lifetime best 16.44 with Great Britain’s Daryl Neita finishing a close second in her lifetime best of 16.48. Gabby Thomas also achieved a personal best of 16.50 to finish third.

Veteran middle distance runner Natoya Goule lost out on another battle with long-time rival and friend Ajee Wilson in the 600m run. The American emerged a comfortable winner in 1:27.00 to Goule’s 1:28.18.

Sammy Watson was third in 1:28.49.

Bryce Hoppel won the men’s event in 1:17.13 over compatriot Kameron Jones (1:17.43) with Jamaica’s Rajay Hamilton clocking 1:17.94 to finish in third place.

Jamaican national junior record holder Alana Reid continued her sensational 2023 season with a dominant victory in the 100m at the 2023 Puma East Coast International Showcase in Maryland on Saturday.

In what was a highly anticipated contest, Hydel’s Reid, who ran 10.92 to set the national junior record en route to a gold medal at the ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships in March, sped to a meet record 11.01 to comfortably take the 100m title.

The BVI’s Hodge, a 17-year-old Montverde Academy standout who won the Austin Sealy award at the 2022 Carifta Games in Kingston, was second in 11.16 and Friends’ Central’s Avery Lewis was third in 11.41.

Reid and Hodge were expected to clash at the recently concluded Carifta Games in Nassau before Hodge was forced to withdraw from the meet du to a rolled ankle in warm-ups ahead of her 100m heat. Reid ended up taking gold in 11.17.

Archbishop Carroll’s Nyckoles Harbor ran 10.28 to win the boys final just ahead of Catoctin High School’s Brody Buffington (10.29) while Motorcade Track Club’s Adrian Kerr was third in 10.40.

Excelsior’s Daniel Wright took victory in the Boys 110m hurdles in 13.87 ahead of DeMatha Catholic’s Anthony Waterman (13.91) and Our Lady of Sacred Heart’s Antonio Votour (14.41).

Holmwood Technical’s Kiara Meikle ran 13.36 for second in the Girls 100m hurdles behind Bullis School’s Myla Greene (13.28). Greene’s schoolmate Kennedy Flynn was third in 13.56.

Moving on to the one lap event, Meikle's teammate Rickiann Russell ran 52.24 for second in the girls 400m behind Hertage's Madison Whyte (52.49) while Hydel's Abigail Campbell ran 53.30 for third.

The boys equivalent saw Bullis School's freshman phenom Quincy Wilson run 46.11 for victory ahead of St. Elizabeth Technical's Jasauna Dennis (47.01) and James W. Robinson's Harry Economon (48.25).

STETHS and Excelsior ran 40.57 and 41.64, respectively, to finish first and second in the boys 4x100m relay.

Michelle Smith of Montverde Academy and the US Virgin Islands ran a meet record 58.34 to win the girls 400m hurdles ahead of Holmwood Technical's Annalice Brady (1:01.77) and St. Elizabeth Technical's Chennai Jarrett (1:03.97).

The boys equivalent was won by Edwin Allen's Tyrece Hyman in 53.58 ahead of DeMatha Catholic's Anthony Waterman (54.39) and St. Elizabeth Technical's Ronaldo Johnson (56.69).

Hydel's Danielle King took top spot in the girls 800m in 2:10.98 ahead of Holmwood's Jodyann Mitchell (2:11.92) and Bullis School's Lauren Leath (2:13.10). The boys equivalent was won by St. Elizabeth Technical's Barrain Smith in 1:53.79 ahead of DeMatha Catholic's Daden Grogan (1:55.65) and Mount St. Joseph School's Pierce Schulze (1:57.54). 

In the field, Holmwood Technical’s Cedricka Williams produced a dominant display to win the discus throw. Williams’ winning mark on 53.60m was more than 20m further than second placed Andrea Countiss of Gar-Field (33.10m). Bullis School’s Aleah Schwartz was third with 32.76m.

Sha’Carri Richardson served notice that she might be ready to beat the best in the world in 2023 when she ran a world-leading 10.76 to win the 100m dash against a stacked field at the season-opening Diamond League meeting on Friday.

In the field that included Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the 2022 200m World Champion, Dina Asher Smith, Abby Steiner and Melissa Jefferson, Richardson started well and was on Jackson’s shoulder mid-way the race before pulling away to eclipse Jackson’s previous world lead of 10.82.

“I'm so blessed and thankful, I feel at peace,” said Richardson, who broke the previous meet record of 10.80 held by Tori Bowie, who died earlier this week.

“All I do is the best I do and I'm excited to do it. Like I said it before, I had to be kicked out from another 100m race, so I had to do my best no matter what. Peace, love and life.”

The Jamaican finished second in 10.85 while Asher Smith ran season-best 10.98 for third place.

Earlier, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, continued her impressive from last season when she won silver at the 2022 World Championships, winning the 400m in 50.51 ahead of American Shamier Little, who ran 50.84.

Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland ran a season best 51.64 for third place.

World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams (52.05) and Jamaicans Candice McLeod (53.43) and Stephenie-Ann McPherson (52.93 SB) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

By her usually high standards Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wasn’t at her best last season but on Friday, she looked like she is getting back to her best while winning the 100m hurdles in a season-best 12.48. The USA’s Alaysha Johnson also ran a season-best of 12.66 for second place with 2019 World Champion Nia Ali finishing third in 12.69.

Jamaica’s Megan Tapper ran a season-best 12.76 for fourth.

In the 400m hurdles, Rai Benjamin held off a fast-finishing CJ Allen to win in 47.78. Allen ran a season-best 47.93 while Wilfried Happio of France finished third in 49.12.

The top seven athletes all set season bests in the men’s javelin but India’s Neeraj Chopra was the best of them all throwing a world-leading 88.67m.

Jakub Vadlejch was second with his effort of 88.63m. World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was third with an effort of 85.88m.

Fred Kerley surged late to win the 200m in 19.92, a season’s best. Kenny Bednarek of the USA was second in 20.11 with Canada’s Aaron Brown of Canada taking the final podium spot with 20.20.

The Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) officially launched the 41^st staging of the INSPORTS Primary Schools All-Island Athletics Championships in a ceremony held inside the Hospitality Room at the National Stadium in Kingston on Thursday.

The Championships, scheduled for May 4-27, will see competition among 130 schools with 6000 students in three regional championships leading up to the grand finale, the national championships.

“Today marks the start of what we have come to regard as our marquee sports event in Jamaica for juniors,” said Minister of Gender, Culture, Education and Sport, the Hon. Olivia “Babsy” Grange.

The Eastern Championships got underway on Thursday at Stadium East and will last until May 6.

The competition then moves to the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport for the Central Championships from May 8-10.

From there, the competition moves to St. Elizabeth Technical High School for the Western Championships between May 11 and May 13.

The National Championships, expected to showcase the best of the best in terms of Primary School athletics in the country, takes place from May 25-27 to decide the All-Island champion.

“It will be thrilling to see the youngsters out there competing. They look forward to it and are excited about it and we know we are looking at future world champions,” said Grange.

Devon Biscuits, who came on board as a major sponsor last year, will serve as title sponsors in 2023 and have committed $9 million to INSPORTS.

“We are happy to be on board,” said Brand Manager for Devon Biscuits, Sherene Bryan.

“We recognize the importance of encouraging, supporting and fostering Jamaica’s talent,” Bryan added before going into how Devon Biscuits came on board in 2022.

“We were made aware of the Championships two days before the meet began. I saw a social media post which was made by my dear friend, Trishana McGowan, and I reached out to her to ask if they had a sponsor. She then advised me that there was no sponsor on board. I then called her and requested the information for the directors of Insports and she provided it that opened the door for further conversations and now we’re here as the title sponsors.”

First Vice President of the Jamaica Administrative Athletics Association, the Hon. Ian Forbes, spoke on behalf of the association.

“41 years means that something right would have been happening. This is where the seeds of greatness are sewn,” Forbes said.

Dina Asher-Smith is relishing the opportunity to compete in a field featuring reigning world 200 metres champion Shericka Jackson when the Diamond League begins in Doha on Friday.

Asher-Smith will line up in a 100m field featuring some of the world’s best during the opener in Qatar, after improving her British 60m record in an unbeaten indoor season.

The 27-year-old took her time to 7.03 seconds ahead of competing in Doha.

“I’m very much a competitor so I love challenging races,” said Asher-Smith. “I don’t think you improve without running against the best in the world.

“There are so many women in the sprints running fantastic times.

“Almost every Diamond League for the past three or four seasons has been super-fast with loads of depth in each race. I’m very much used to it.”

Asher-Smith became the first British woman to win a major global sprint title when she won in the 200m in Doha in 2019.

There is the prospect in Qatar of elite athletes facing off in one-on-one races.

The men’s world 100m champion Fred Kerley has said on social media that he hopes to get the chance to go up against Olympic gold medallist Lamont Marcell Jacobs.

Asked who she would like to face given the opportunity, Asher-Smith said Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce would be her ideal opponent.

She was runner-up to the Jamaican over 100m at the 2019 World Championship.

“I really like racing Shelly,” she said. ”She is an incredible athlete and an incredible competitor.

“I really enjoy racing against her, mainly because I really like her race model compared to mine. It’s like a training exercise.”

Tori Bowie, the American sprinter who won the 100m title at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London has died overnight, according to her management.

She was 32.

A source close to the development said it is believed she committed suicide.

Her management team released a statement saying, “We’re devastated to share the very sad news that Tori Bowie has passed away,” read a post from Icon Management.

“We’ve lost a client, dear friend and sister. Tori was a champion, a beacon of light that shined so bright. We are truly heartbroken and our prayers are with her family and friends.”

A talented track and field athlete, Bowie excelled at the 100m, 200m and long jump. She won a silver medal in the 100m at the 2016 Rio Olympics behind Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah and took bronze in the 200m. However, she won gold in the 4x100m relay.

  Bowie had personal best times of 10.78 in the 100m, 21.77 in the 200m and 6.91m in the long jump.

* In a previous representation of this story, we inadvertently misrepresented a quote from Miss Bowie in an interview in 2017. We apologize for the error and express our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the athlete.

Thirty-six per cent of female athletes have ignored missed periods thinking it was normal or in some cases beneficial for an active person, a new survey has found.

The Female Athlete Health Report from Project RED-S and Kyniska Advocacy focused on responses from 769 athletes in the UK assigned female sex at birth to questions concerning their menstrual cycle and body image.

It also found 30 per cent of respondents had been told by a medical professional that period abnormalities were “normal” given their activity level.

The report stated this indicated GPs and other healthcare professionals “were not sufficiently informed about the potentially serious health implications of irregular/missed periods”.

Common reasons for menstrual dysfunction include low energy availability, polycystic ovary syndrome, an overactive thyroid or heart disease.

The absence of menstruation is also a key symptom of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). It is a condition which can affect elite and non-elite athletes, and is characterised by low energy availability due to a calorie deficit.

Pippa Woolven is a former track and field athlete and co-founder of Project RED-S, who helped to develop the Female Athlete Health Report.

Woolven struggled with fatigue, injuries and low moods during her career but was consistently given the all-clear by medics to continue competing. She was finally diagnosed with RED-S in 2017 and retired in 2021.

Woolven said: “RED-S carries widespread and often life-changing health and performance consequences to athletes of any age, gender, ability or activity. Historically, it has been misunderstood, undiagnosed and untreated. We’re here to help push for change across all levels of sport.”

RED-S can lead to irreparable damage, impairing almost every system in the body if left untreated.

The report found less than 50 per cent of respondents had heard of RED-S before taking the survey.

One athlete who completed the survey said: “My GP told me it was normal to miss my period. I had every RED-S symptom, but because none of them were ‘that bad’, my doctors and coach just let me carry on. I thought it was just part of being an athlete.”

The report also looked at athlete body image.

Seventy four per cent of the survey group agreed that they had “felt as though they did not look like an athlete”, 50 per cent said they had consciously restricted their food intake in order to improve their performance, while 52 per cent said they did so in order “to fit in or look the part in their sport”.

The report found 91 per cent agreed that they had worried about how many calories they were eating, with 19 per cent admitting these worries occurred “all the time”.

Fifty-three per cent of athletes said they had received comments about their body, with athletes receiving those comments four times more likely to restrict their food intake.

One respondent said: “When I was deep in anorexia, someone actually said to me ‘you’re looking like a real runner these days’.

“I was so unwell and so underweight, yet someone felt the need to make that comment.”

The report also looked at how athletes get health information. It found only four per cent had received specific female health support from a national sports governing body, with 49 per cent saying they had looked on the internet for information and advice.

The report recommends mandatory, centralised and comprehensive coach education on female health to be embedded within all coaching qualifications at all levels, after the survey found athletes who felt their coaches were uninformed suffered 36 per cent more RED-S symptoms.

It also called for the creation of an athlete-led female health, body image, eating disorder and RED-S support network, widespread distribution of an online female athlete health toolkit for athletes and parents to be used from an athlete’s first entry into sport.

General practitioners should be provided with a resource to better understand specific female athlete health concerns, including RED-S, the report recommended.

Seventeen-year-old Adaejah Hodge set a new national 100m record and won the 200m dash at the 2023 Corky/Crofoot Shootout in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday when Jamaica’s Demisha Roswell, Bahamian Antoine Andrews and the Virgin Islands’ Michelle Smith enjoyed victories.

It is not often that Hodge, the BVI’s sprint phenom, loses a race but even so still found a silver-lining when she finished second in the 100m behind Oklahoma’s Kennedy Blackmon, who took gold in 11.06.

Hodge’s 11.11 for second was a new personal best and a national record, eclipsing the 11.12 set in June 2011 by Tahesia Harrigan.

Success Umukoro of South Plains Junior College was third in 11.29.

Hodge would turn the tables on Blackmon in the 200m which she won in 22.31, which would have broken Harrigan’s national record of 22.98 had it not been for the five-metre-per-second trailing wind. Hodge, by the way, owns the World U20 200m indoor record of 22.33 set in Boston in March.

Blackmon finished second in 22.56 while Serena Clarke of Texas Tech was third in 23.07.

Anderson of the Bahamas ran out a comfortable winner in the 110m hurdles. The Texas Tech freshman clocked 13.46 as Justin Guy of South Plains and Taylor Rooney of Texas Tech ran 13.57 and 13.88 for second and third, respectively.

Roswell, the 2022 Big 12 100m hurdles champion Roswell was the only competitor under 13 seconds in the 100m hurdles taking the event in 12.89.

Her Texas Tech teammate Naomi Krebs, a freshman was second in 13.25. Nex Mexico’s Ese Awusa ran 13.57 for third place.

Smith, the 2023 Carifta Games U20 400m champion, had a battle on her hands but found enough to hold off Daneesha Davidson, clocking 56.66 to Davidson’s 56.69 in the blanket finish. Sylvia Schulz was third in 57.08.

Grace Obour of Western Texas College, by a wide margin, won the 400m in 52.71 over New Mexico’s Deshana Skeete, who took the runner-up spot in 54.02. Jamaica’s Rushana Dwyer who attends South Plains Junior College finished third after crossing the line in 54.43.

Zarik Brown of Oklahoma ran 45.38 for a comfortable victory in the men’s one-lap race with DeSean Bryce of Western Texas finishing in second place in 46.19. The South Plains duo of Kimar Farquharson and Jeremy Bembridge were third and fourth, respectively, in the same time of 46.28.

Defending NCAA 100m champion Julien Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m at the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday when O’Brien Wasome produced a dominant performance to win the triple jump.

Alfred, the University of Texas senior, who dominated the NCAA Indoor season and was named USTFCCA Indoor Athlete of the Year, has taken her outstanding form outdoors, running 10.95 to win the blue-ribbon dash over Texas teammate Kevona Davis who edged Ashanti Moore by 0.004 to take second. Both women were credited with 11.14.

American Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo Olympics 200m bronze medallist demonstrated her strength in the 400m which she won in a personal best 49.68.

Lynna Irby-Jackson finished second in 50.40 while first-year pro Charokee Young was third in 50.64.

Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medallist Shiann Salmon was fifth in 51.99.

Texas senior Johnathan Jones was third in the 400m clocking 46.50 while finishing behind Texas State’s Dominic Yancy who ran 46.39 and winner Brian Herron of Texas, who crossed the line in 46.14.

Wasome, meanwhile, was winning the triple jump with a jump of 16.80m.

Jeremiah Davies of Florida State University’s 16.01m gave him second while Jemuel Allen of the University of Texas at San Antonio jumped 15.50m for third.

Roja Stona and Akera Nugent each produced impressive wins at the LSU Invitational on Saturday. Meanwhile, Omar McLeod, who is attempting a comeback after missing out on the last two major championships, finished second in the 110m hurdles won by fellow Jamaican Phillip Lemonious.

Stona, who transferred from Clemson to Arkansas during the summer, threw a massive 67.02m to win the discus over compatriot and teammate Ralford Mullings, who hit a mark of 62.16m for second place.

Claudio Romero of LSU was a distance third with his best throw of 50.69m.

Stona’s previous best was 65.11m set in May 2022.

In the Women’s shot put, Lloydricia Cameron finished fourth with a season-best 16.90m, well below her lifetime best of 18.33m set in May 2021.

Georgia’s Anna da Silva won the event with a throw of 17.62m with Ole Miss’ Jalaan Davies the runner up with 17.51m.

Florida’s Alida Van Daalen was third with 17.45m.

Arkansas freshman Jaydon Hibbert was a winner once again in the triple with yet another effort over 17m. The NCAA and World U20 record holder, jumped 17.17m for an easy victory over the rest of the field that included his Arkansas teammates Carey McLeod and Wayne Pinnock who finished third and fourth with marks of 15.67m and 15.65m, respectively.

Alabama’s Christian Edwards was the closest to Hibbert, taking second place with 16.12m.

World championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts has been trying to find her best form this season. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion was well off her lifetime best of 14.98m but she didn’t need to be, winning in a season’s best of 14.06m.

No other competitor managed to soar beyond 14m as Tennessee’s Charisma Taylor’s 13.82m landed her second place while Florida’s Jasmine Moore took third with 13.77m.

On the track, Ackera Nugent celebrated her 21^st birthday with confidence-boosting win over the talented American Alia Armstrong.

Nugent, the World U20 60m record holder and 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m champion, clocked a season-best 12.52 to hold off Armstrong who ran 12.59 for second place.

Michelle Harrison of Athletics Canada was third in 12.93.

Arkansas’ Lemonious won a close race with McLeod, running 13.63 to edge the 2017 World Champion, who was timed in 13.67.

Pierre Lepage of Athletics Canada took third in 13.82.

Hydel High had an excellent final day at the 127^th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field on Saturday.

First, they comfortably won the High School Girls 4x100m title.

National Under 20 100m record holder Alana Reid, Oneika McAnuff, Shemonique Hazle and Alliah Baker combined to run 44.16, more than a second faster than runners up Bullis School (45.59). St. Jago ran 45.98 for third.

The rest of the field was rounded out by McDonogh School (46.57), St. Augustine’s (46.61), Heritage (46.75), South County (46.80) and Wolmer’s Girls (52.32). Defending champions Edwin Allen failed to finish.

Hydel also took top spot in the 4x400m final.

Aaliyah Mullings, Oneika McAnuff, Jody-Ann Daley and Danielle King combined to run 3:15.63 to win ahead of Edwin Allen (3:16.20) and Bullis School (3:36.25). Holmwood Technical (3:43.13) and St. Catherine High (3:45.03) were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Edwin Allen, the region’s lone representative in the 4x800m final, finished second in a time of 8:58.83. New Jersey’s Union Catholic dominated the race to win in 8:44.98 while North Carolina’s Mount Tabor was third in 9:04.88.

Kingston College successfully defended their Championship of America High School Boys 4x400m title on day two of the 127^th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field.

The team of Amal Glasgow, Marcinho Rose, Raheem Richards and Emmanuel Rwotomiya combined to run 3:15.62 to take the title ahead of New Jersey’s Seton Hall Prep (3:16.06) and Calabar (3:16.54).

KC also found themselves on the podium in the 4x800 where they finished second in 7:47.68, narrowly being beaten by New Jersey’s Chatham (7:47.66) while St. Elizabeth Technical were third in 7:49.45.

Julien Alfred’s incredible exploits on the track so far this season has reaped rich benefits.

The 21-year-old Alfred, the 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m and 200m champion and the second-fastest woman of all time over the two distances, is to be awarded a diplomatic passport by the Government of St Lucia, who will also provide her with financial assistance after she graduates from the University of Texas later this year.

Alfred, the 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m silver medalist, enjoyed a record-breaking indoor season the likes of which has never been seen before.

She broke St Lucia’s national record five times in the 60m dash running times of 7.05, 7.02, 7.05, 7.0, 7.03, 6.97, 6.96 and 6.94.

Alfred, the 2022 NCAA 100m champion, was also the first NCAA female sprinter to break seven seconds in the 60m dash and did it three times during the season culminating in a time of 6.94, which is tied for second fastest all-time with the USA’s Aleia Hobbs.

Only Russia’s Irina Privalova’s world record of 6.92 is faster.

 The St Lucian star won her second gold medal at the NCAA National Indoors when she ran 22.01 to set a new NCAA and national record, lowering the 22.09 set by the University of Kentucky’s Abby Steiner in 2022. Only Jamaica’s Merlene Ottey has run faster indoors.

Her achievements were recognized by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) who named her the NCAA Indoor Female Athlete of the Year.

It is against this background that her country’s government made its announcement on Saturday.
“St Lucia’s global sprint star and Olympic hopeful Julien Alfred will receive a diplomatic passport and continued financial support from the government to ensure she continues to receive the best training opportunities after her graduation from the University of Texas this year,” the government said in a Facebook post on Saturday morning.

“St Lucia and the world continues to witness the valiant feats and the breaking of records by Julien Alfred.”

Alfred has continued her impressive form outdoors running a world-leading 21.91 in the 200m at the Tom Jones Memorial on April 14 and then a day later capped the meet off running 10.72 in the 100m aided by a wind of 2.4 m/s.