Sprint Queen Julien Alfred crowned Female Athlete of the Year at ANOC awards

The sprint queen from Saint Lucia, Julien Alfred, has secured another milestone by winning the Female Athlete of the Year of Paris 2024 award from Panam Sports President Neven Illic during the prestigious ANOC Awards. This coveted honour celebrates her outstanding performance at the Games, placing her among the best in the world of sports.

The award was given by the National Association of Olympic Committees in an awards ceremony held in Cascais, Portugal. She has been a revelation at the Paris Olympics by dine of hard work winning gold medal in the women's 100m and silver medal in the 200m respectively.

Alfred looked stunning as she got to the stage wearing a black body fitted dress which she paired with a thin neck piece and set her hair in a high ponytail. 

While being at the stage, she stated that the previous year, after a long collegiate season within fourth and fifth in the final coming to this year, she knows how the ability with less races in her legs, also sticking with her collegiate head coach Eric and working towards a specific goal which was the 100m and the 200m, a celebration that she was not expecting but she received a lot of love and support from her country Saint Lucia. 

“I am truly grateful to be able to represent Saint Lucia on the global stage always,” she added. 

Following this significant achievement, she reflected on this incredible milestone during an interview and what it means to represent the athletes of the Americas on the world stage. Her journey has been nothing short of inspiring and this award is a clear testament to her dedication and performance in the Paris Olympics 2024. 

She said something profound, "I would like to see more of Saint Lucia's Athletes on the global sporting platform as I have found myself."

Alfred noted that the awards mean the most to her truly just to know all her hard work for its sacrifices, all the challenges that she has faced was all for a reason that I am receiving this award. 

“Hopefully I can also inspire a nation and continue to inspire the youth of the country that no matter where you are from, you can be on global stages like I was at the Olympics,” she added. 

The athlete noted that she made the sacrifice necessary to get to where she wanted to go. When asked what this year had been like for her, Julien Alfred remarked that, “It showed me what believing in yourself can do, believing in your coach, trusting him, trust in god, it has meant that I belong amongst the great athletes that the same people I look up to and was inspired by, I am now amongst them and I belong. That is really what it means to me that I belong amongst the great athletes.”

Notably, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo was named the Paris Male Athlete of the Year during the award ceremony. His remarkable performance at the international games won him a gold medal on the podium as he defeated USA's Noah Lyles and  Erriyon Knighton in the Men's 200m.

The National Association of Olympic Committees with their eagles eyes have observed both athletes and deservedly awarded Best Male and Female Athlete's awards to them.

Disclaimer: The update on Julien Alfred winning the Female Athlete of the Year award is purely written by Associates Times. Interested to know more about the daily happenings in the Caribbean click here.