Birthday girl Julien Alfred celebrated with three gold medals and a national team title as the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded in Austin, Texas on Saturday night.

Within a span of just over 90 minutes, the St Lucian track star, who turned 22, won gold in the 4x100m relay, 100m and 200m to close a stellar collegiate career and make the case of being the greatest female sprinter in NCAA Track and Field history, according to winning coach Eldrick Floreal.

“Without a doubt the greatest sprinter in NCAA history,” said Floreal, who guided the Longhorns to their first title in 18 years.

It would be difficult to dispute Floreal’s declaration considering what Alfred, who has lost once this season, managed to accomplish on Saturday.

She began the evening by leading the Texas Longhorn 4x100m relay gold in 41.60, the second fastest in NCAA history. Only the 41.55 they ran in the semi-finals on Thursday night is faster.

The University of Kentucky was almost a second behind in 42.46 with LSU third in 42.52.

Approximately, 50 minutes later Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m in a fantastic time of 10.72s that was only ‘ruined’ by a trailing wind that was at 2.3 m/s, slightly over the maximum allowable limit of 2.00 m/s.

Oklahoma’s Kennedy Blackmon ran 10.87 to take the silver medal while Tennessee’s Jacious Sears clocked 10.94 to win the bronze medal.

Alfred’s Texas teammate Kevona Davis was fifth in 10.98s.

Forty-five minutes later, Alfred was at it again pulling off a dominant performance to win the 200m in 21.73, which was again blighted by a trailing wind of 2.5m/s.

Finishing in her wake was Ole Miss’ McKenzie Long who stopped the clock at 21.88s and Davis, who was third in 22.02.

Afterwards, Alfred showered praise Coach Floreal, who helped her achieve success in her time at Texas.

"My coach has been my biggest influence in my life, my five years here at Texas," she said. "Prior to beginning the championships, I went to speak to him, and he said let’s not focus on myself, focus on the team. That changed the pressure. It made a huge difference."

Alfred wasn’t the only standout during these championships for Texas. While the St Lucian was busy tearing up the track, Ackelia Smith, who Floreal also singled out for praise, followed up her victory in the long jump on Thursday night with a personal best 14.54m in the triple to win silver behind Florida’s Jasmine Moore.

The Florida freshman produced an NCAA meet record of 14.78m, a new lifetime best as well as facility record.

Ruta Lasmane of Texas Tech was third with 14.21m.

Perhaps, the race of the night was the 100m hurdles that featured the three best collegiate hurdlers this season – Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, LSU’s Alia Armstrong and Kentucky’s Masai Russell.

With a strong wind of 3.8m/s behind their backs, a condition that usually makes it difficult for sprint hurdlers, the three women running next to each in other in the centre of the track unleashed an epic battle that saw the Jamaican Nugent emerging victorious in 12.26s even after clipping the final hurdle.

Russell hit a hurdle early but managed to compose herself and storm past Armstrong and into second in 12.31. Armstrong, the fastest of the three, hit a hurdle mid-race, lost her momentum but managed to right herself and take the bronze in 12.49.

All season long Arkansas’ Britton Wilson dominated the 400m and was favoured to win gold, especially after dropping a lifetime best of 49.13 to win the SEC title in May.

On Thursday, she ran a fast 49.36 to win her semi-final, solidifying her position of gold-medal favourite. However, someone forgot to tell Texas’ Rhasidat Adeleke, who produced a powerful surge down the home stretch to take victory in 49.20, a massive personal best which broke Wilson’s two-day-old facility and meet record.

Wilson was second in 49.64. Her teammate Nickisha Price, who is from Jamaica, ran a personal best 50.23 for third place. Price later helped Arkansas win the 4x400m title in 3:24.05 in a dominant performance over Texas A&M (3:26.12) and Ohio State (3:26.72).

In 2022, Lamara Distin dominated the high jump in Division 1, winning both indoor and outdoor titles while soaring to new height of 1.97m outdoors, a national record.

However, after equaling that height indoors earlier this season, Distin was unable to replicate that performance on Saturday and it proved costly.

The Texas A&M senior could only muster 1.87m, a height not good enough to successful defend her title that went to Charity Griffith of Ball State who sailed over a personal best 1.93m.

Elena Kulichenko of the University of Georgia took the bronze having also cleared 1.87m but Distin was better on the count back.

At the end of it all and thanks mainly to Alfred’s 30 points, Texas amassed 83 points, 32 more than Florida (51) with Arkanas third with 46 points.

Oregon (44) and Texas A&M (36) rounded out the top five schools.

Ackelia Smith fouled her first two jumps and was in danger of not advancing to the finals but she then found her footing to advance to the final round. There, with her final jump of the competition, she won gold on day two of the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.

Smith, a sophomore at the University of Texas, uncorked a leap of 6.88m to take the lead late from Alyssa Jones of Stanford, who had earlier produced a lifetime best of 6.86m.

Jones fouled her final jump and thus had to settle for second place.

Jasmine Moore of Florida took the bronze with 6.66m.

Smith’s victory came a day after fellow Jamaican Carey McLeod representing the University of Arkansas won the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.26m with Wayne Pinnock, his college teammate and fellow Jamaican, finishing second with 8.15m.

A third Jamaican, Jordan Turner of the University of Kentucky (8.13m) was third.

The final of the 100m barn burner as medal favourites Ackera Nugent, Alia Armstrong and Masai Russell all advanced to the finals. Razorback Nugent won her heat in 12.55, the second fastest time of the finalists. LSU’s Armstrong was only 0.01 faster having won her heat in 12.54.

Russell won her heat in 12.76.

Demisha Roswell, the 2022 Big 12 champion, failed to advance with her time of 12.99, the 11^th fastest time of the semi-finals.

Having dominated the sprints all season, it was no surprise when Texas Longhorn senior Julien Alfred advanced to the final of both the 100m and 200m on Saturday.

The St Lucian led a Texas 1-2-3-4 in the first of three semi-final heats winning in 10.99 with Kevona Davis finishing second in 11.04. Davis’ time was the third-fastest heading into the final as Texas Tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma, the last woman to beat Alfred, ran 11.01 to advance.

An hour later, Alfred won her 200m semi-final heat in 22.33, the same time as Davis, who also won the first of the three semi-finals. Alfred (22.321), however, was the fastest having run 0.007 faster than Davis (22.328), who has been rounding into form throughout the season.

The pair were running on tired legs after the 100m semis and a blistering 4x100m relay heat that Texas won in 41.55, a new meet, facility and championship record.

Former Vere Technical runner, Nickisha Pryce, a junior at Arkansas, ran a lifetime best of 50.31 to advance to the final of the 400m. Only, the two gold medal favorites Britton Wilson also of Arkansas, who ran a new meet and facility record of 49.36 and Texas’ Rhasidat Adekele, who won her heat in 49.86 were faster.

Texas’s Julien Alfred will have a chance to defend her NCAA Outdoor 100m title after securing her spot in the field on the final day of the NCAA West Regionals in Sacramento on Saturday.

The 21-year-old St. Lucian, who won the NCAA Indoor 60m and 200m double earlier this season, sped to a meet record and collegiate leading time of 10.83 to comfortably be the fastest qualifier to the Championships set for June 7-10 on her home track at the University of Texas's Mike A. Myers stadium.

Her Jamaican teammate, Kevona Davis, also made it through the preliminaries with an 11.06 effort.

The Texas duo also made it through in the 200m with Davis running a season’s best 22.33 and Alfred running 22.45.

Arkansas’s Ackera Nugent, a two-time NCAA Indoor Champion, ran 12.69, a new meet record to advance fastest in the sprint hurdles. Her countrywoman, Texas Tech’s Demisha Roswell, also made it through with a season’s best 12.77.

Arkansas’s Nickisha Price and Joanne Reid both advanced in the one-lap event with personal best times of 50.49 and 51.49, respectively.

In the field, defending NCAA high jump champion, Lamara Distin of Texas A&M, easily cleared 1.85m to secure her opportunity to defend her title. Texas’s Ackelia Smith, world leader in the long jump, also booked her spot in the field for the triple jump with 13.96m.

Meanwhile, at the East Regionals in Jacksonville, Ohio State’s Yanique Dayle and Kentucky’s Anthaya Charlton made it through in the 100m.

Dayle, the Jamaican Senior, produced a big personal best 11.05 while Charlton, the Bahamian Freshman, produced 11.08 (2.3 m/s) to advance.

Dayle also advanced in the 200m with a season’s best 22.58 while LSU’s Brianna Lyston also made it through with 22.92.

In the field, Georgia’s Vincentian Junior, Mikeisha Welcome, jumped 13.50m to make it through in the triple jump.

Julien Alfred was crowned 2023 Big 12 Outdoor 100m champion on Sunday after winning the blue-ribbon dash in 10.84, a new facility record.

Alfred was part of a Texas 1-2-3 as Kevona Davis and Ezinne Abba were second and third, respectively in 11.04s. Davis, however, was clocked at 11.031 to Abba’s 11.035.

Aldred copped a second gold medal when she teamed up with Davis, Abba, and Rhasidat Adekele to win the 4x100m relay in 41.89. The time was a new collegiate, Big 12 and Facility record.

Baylor was a distant second in 43.75. They just managed to hold off Oklahoma that finished third in 43.84.

Bahamian Terrence Jones finished second in the men’s equivalent in a time of 10.08, the same time as his Texas Tech teammate of Courtney Lindsay. Lindsay clocked 10.076 to Jones’ 10.080.

Marcellus Moore of Texas ran 10.17 for third place.

Jones would later anchor Texas Tech to victory in the men’s 4x100m in a new Big 12 and facility record 38.24. It was also the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Texas and Baylor ran 38.89 and 39.12 for second and third, respectively.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech’s Demisha Roswell, successfully defended her 100m hurdles title but was not nearly as fast as she was last season when she ran 12.44 to hold off a game Ackera Nugent who was then at Baylor University.

Roswell, who is in her final year at Texas Tech, clocked 13.02 to end her collegiate career as Big 12 champion.  Kaylyn Hall of Iowa State finished the race in 13.17 for second place while Roswell’s teammate Naomi Krebbs clocked 13.33 for third place.

Roswell was also a member of the Texas Tech sprint relay team that finished fourth in 43.85.

Texas’s Ackelia Smith continued her excellent 2023 season with a personal best 7.08m for victory at the 2023 Big 12 Outdoor Championships at John Jacobs Field in Oklahoma on Saturday.

The 21-year-old had jumps of 6.74m and 6.61m in the first two rounds before jumping out to her massive new personal best and world leading jump in the third. She subsequently passed on her next three jumps.

Oklahoma’s Pippi Lotta Enok produced 6.65m for second while Kansas State’s Shalom Olotu jumped 6.41 for third.

On the track, St. Lucians had an excellent day. First, Kansas’s Michael Joseph ran a personal best 44.77 to advance fastest into the men’s 400m final. Texas’s Jonathan Jones also advanced to the final with 45.70.

Then, Texas’s 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Julien Alfred, produced 10.74, albeit with a 3.4m/s wind, to advance fastest to the women’s 100m final.

Texas also had the second and third fastest qualifiers to the women’s 100m final through Kevona Davis (10.93) and Ezinne Abba (10.93).

Bahamian Terrence Jones ran 10.35 to advance third fastest in the men’s equivalent.

The 100m hurdles saw Jamaican Texas Tech senior Demisha Roswell advance fastest with 12.92.

Roswell’s Bahamian Texas Tech teammate, Antoine Andrews, ran 13.57 to advance in the men’s 110m hurdles.

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.

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.

Reigning NCAA Indoor 60m champions Julien Alfred and Terrence Jones produced excellent performances to win their respective Women’s and Men’s college 100m sections at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday.

The St. Lucian Texas senior Alfred continued her stellar form this season with 10.72 (2.4m/s) to win the Women’s College 100m ahead of Texas Tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma (10.85) and Ole Miss’s McKenzie Long (10.92).

The Commonwealth Games 100m silver medallist also ran a new personal best and St. Lucian national record 21.91 to win the 200m on Friday.

The Women’s Olympic Development section saw Jamaican Kiara Grant produce a personal best 10.99 for victory ahead of Adidas’ Celia Barnes (11.05) and Maia McCoy (11.08).

Jones, the Bahamian Texas Tech junior, produced a massive personal best and world leading 9.91 to win the Men’s College 100m.

Jones, 20, won comfortably ahead of Texas Tech teammate Courtney Lindsey (10.04) and Florida State’s Amir Willis (10.08).

Jones’ 9.91 equals Derrick Atkins’ Bahamian national record done to win 100m silver at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

The Men’s Olympic Development section was won by American 200m World Champion Noah Lyles in 9.95 ahead of Asics’s Joseph Fahnbulleh (9.98) and Adidas’ Kendal Williams (10.03).

Jamaican Sachin Dennis was fifth in 10.11 while the BVI’s Rikkoi Brathwaite and Trinidad & Tobago’s Eric Harrison ran 10.16 and 10.18, respectively, to finish sixth and seventh overall.

Moving to the one lap event, Trinidadian 2022 World Indoor 400m champion Jereem Richards and Jamaican Stacey-Ann Williams both produced personal bests to secure wins.

Adidas’ Richards, who also won 200m gold at the Commonwealth Games last year, produced an impressive 44.68 to win the Men’s Olympic Development 400m ahead of Alonzo Russell of the Bahamas, who also ran a personal best 44.73, and Adidas’ Noah Williams (45.22).

Elite Performance’s Williams, whose previous personal best was 50.14 done in 2021, ran 50.12 in just her second race of the season for the win ahead of Life Speed and Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams (50.77) and Adidas’ Brittany Brown (51.15).

Julien Alfred took her incredible indoor form outdoors on Friday, running a world-leading 21.91 to win the College Women 200m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida.

Alfred, the Texas Longhorn senior who ran a NCAA record 22.01, the second fastest time ever indoors to win the NCAA Indoor Nationals last month, also established a new national record in the event that was contested over two heats.

Lenae Thomas also of Texas was second overall in a wind-aided 22.30 (+3.1m/s) that won the second heat.

MacKenzie Long of Ole Miss, second in Alfred’s heat, was third overall in 22.31. Kevona Davis, who was third in Alfred’s heat ran 22.47 for fifth overall.

In the Women Olympic Development 200m, World Championship 100m bronze medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah, running her first 200m of the season, finished in second place in her heat in 23.23, a time good enough for second overall.

Melissa Jefferson of the USA, who won Thompson-Herah’s heat, was the fastest with a time of 23.02.

St. Lucian senior Julien Alfred and Jamaican junior Kevona Davis were part of the Texas quartet that set the Mike A. Myers Stadium track on fire on their way to setting a new collegiate record at the 2023 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on Saturday.

Alfred, the 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m and 200m champion and record holder, ran the opening leg for the Longhorns before passing to Ezinne Abba who then passed to Lanae Thomas before Davis anchored the team to a time of 42.00, breaking the previous collegiate record 42.05 set by LSU in 2018.

Earlier in the day, Alfred, Davis and Thomas combined with Rhasidat Adeleke to set a new collegiate record 1:28.05 in the 4x200.

On Friday, Alfred was also a part of the quartet that set a collegiate record in the sprint medley.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist split 22.4 in the first 200m leg of the relay and combined with Rhasidat Adeleke, Kennedy Simon and Valery Tobias to run 3:36.10 and break the previous record 3:38.93 set at last year’s Texas relays by Texas A&M.

Individually, Jamaican Ashanti Moore ran 11.23 for second in the Women’s Invitational 100m behind Olympic 200m bronze medallist Gabby Thomas (11.09) while Lynna Irby-Jackson was third in 11.31.

Julien Alfred, Ackera Nugent and Lamara Distin are among ten women named to the watch list for the 2023 Bowerman Award after standout performances at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico from March 10-11.

The Bowerman is an award given to the year’s best student-athlete in American collegiate track & field.

There was also a pre-NCAA Indoor Championships list revealed earlier in March that included Alfred and Distin.

St. Lucian Texas senior Alfred capped off a spectacular indoor season with a personal best and collegiate record 6.94 to defend her NCAA Indoor title. Her time made her the fastest Caribbean woman ever in the event and put her joint-second all-time behind Irina Privalova’s 6.92.

The 21-year-old also won gold in the 200m in 22.01, another collegiate record and the second fastest time ever behind Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 done 30 years ago in Lille.

Arkansas sophomore Nugent, who was absent from the list released before the championships, earned her way on to the new one when she won gold in the 60m hurdles in 7.73.

On day one of the meet, Nugent, 20, set a new collegiate and Jamaican national record when she ran 7.72 in the prelims. That time puts her fourth on the all-time list for the event.

23-year-old Texas A&M senior Distin completed another unbeaten indoor season with a 1.91m clearance to win the high jump. In February, Distin cleared 1.97m to equal her own Jamaican record.

The other seven athletes on the watch list are Florida’s Jasmine Moore and Talitha Diggs, Kentucky’s Masai Russell, NC State’s Kaetlyn Tuohy, Oregon’s Jorinde Van Klinken, Stanford’s Roisin Willis and Arkansas’s Britton Wilson.

NCAA National Indoor 60m and 200m champion Julien Alfred has set her sights on the 60m world record after becoming the second fastest woman all time over the distance. She is also keen to test herself against the best female sprinters in the world.

The 21-year-old Alfred, in her final indoor season for the University of Texas ran 6.94 to win the 60m dash and took 200m gold in 22.01 at the NCAA Division 1 National Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, Texas on March 11.

Both times are the second fastest all-time behind Irina Privalova’s 6.92 and Merlene Ottey’s 21.87, respectively set 30 years ago.

The only woman to break seven seconds at the collegiate level, Alfred’s accomplished that feat three times during the season and even as her collegiate career comes to a close, she plans to continue competing indoors because she wants the 60m world record.

“I do want to go after that world record and I know some day I will get it,” she said while speaking with FloTrack, even while revealing that she did not think about the world record much prior to the NCAA finals because it induces her anxiety.

Setting two world-leading times and the second-fastest times in the indoor sprints on the same day, she said, has boosted her confidence, especially the 200m, an event that she really dislikes.

“I hate it. I am never going to like the 200m but this has really opened up my eyes as to what I can really do. This builds my confidence a bit more and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do at the international level. This is my last indoor competing for Texas so I am actually looking forward to going against the pros, competing at the professional level and see what I can do.”

Following her record-breaking collegiate indoor season, Julien Alfred has been named the South Central Region Female Track Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The 21-year-old Alfred re-wrote both the collegiate and Texas record books this season after being crowned the indoor sprints double champion with the No. 2 world all-time performances in both the 60m and the 200m.

The St. Lucia native lowered her 60m collegiate record six times this season including times of 7.05, 7.02, 7.00, 6.97, 6.95 and finally 6.94. She's the only collegian to ever run under seven seconds and did it three times this season. She followed up with a collegiate-record in the 200 with a time of 22.01 that also serves as the UT record.

Her Longhorn teammate Yusuf Bizimana was the SEC Male Track athlete after winning the 800m crown at the NCAA Championships with his personal-best time of 1:46.02.

St Lucia’s Julien Alfred capped off an incredible season at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships on Saturday when she clocked the second fastest time in history to win gold in the 200m.

It was her second individual gold medal of the season-ending meet held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after winning the 60m dash on Friday.

The 21-year-old Longhorn senior clocked 22.01 while holding off the challenge of favourite LSU’s Favour Ofili, who finished in 22.20. Autum Wilson was third in 22.45.

Aldred’s time was a personal best, national record, championship record, meet and facility record as well as a world lead. Only Merlene Ottey, who ran 21.87 in Italy 30 years ago, has run faster.

The time also shattered the 22.09 run by Kentucky’s Abby Steiner just last year.

It was the perfect ending for Alfred, who ran unbeaten over 60m and clocked three times under seven seconds during the season. She lost only once over 200m.

On Friday, Alfred won the 60m dash in 6.94, a new collegiate, meet and championship record as well as a national record.

 It was the third time this season she covered the distance in under seven seconds and is now the fastest woman over the distance from the Caribbean surpassing Ottey’s 6.96.

St. Lucian and Texas senior Julien Alfred produced another amazing performance to advance to the final of the Women’s 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday.

The 21-year-old defending champion ran a new personal best and championship record 6.96, the joint-fourth fastest time ever, to win heat one and advance to Saturday’s final as the fastest qualifier.

The Commonwealth Games 100m silver-medallist entered the championships as a massive favorite to retain her title as she is unbeaten in the event this season with winning times of 7.05, 7.02, 7.05, 7.00, 7.03 and 6.97.

Alfred, now the joint-fastest Caribbean woman of all time in the event alongside Jamaican legend Merlene Ottey, will be joined in the final by Jamaican Clemson senior Kiara Grant who wan 7.14 for third in the first heat.

Later, Alfred also ran 22.38 to advance to the final of the 200m. LSU's Favor Ofili was the fastest qualifier with a spectacular 22.11, the third fastest time ever behind Merlene Ottey's 21.87 and Abby Steiner's 22.09.

Elsewhere, Jamaican Arkansas sophomore Joanne Reid ran 51.98 to advance to the final of the Women’s 400m.