Alfred cops St Lucia's first ever global gold medal; McDonald secures another bronze for Jamaica

By March 02, 2024
St Lucia's Julien Alfred (left) and Rusheen McDonald St Lucia's Julien Alfred (left) and Rusheen McDonald

Julien Alfred secured St Lucia’s first ever global gold medal, when she topped the women’s 60m final in a world lead equalling 6.98s, to fittingly bring the curtains down on day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, in Glasgow, Scotland, on Saturday.

Alfred, who has a personal best of 6.94s, was always expected to continue her rich vein of form with a podium finish, but her gold medal prospects improved even more when her main rival Aleia Hobbs of the United States pulled out of the final with an injury.

Still, the 22-year-old Alfred showed her class, as she burst through the middle of Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (7.00s) and Italy’s Zaynab Dosso (7.05s), to finish tops.

"It feels good, I don't know how they are behaving right now, but I am sure they are happy. I have been working hard for such a long time to come out here and give my country their first ever gold medal and I am so happy, overwhelmed and ecstatic right now," Alfred said shortly after the race.

St Lucia’s Minister of Sport Kenson Casimir congratulated Alfred on the feat which has given the Eastern Caribbean Island much to celebrate.

“St Lucia's first ever global medallist in any sporting event and I think what makes it even more special is the fact that it is a gold medal at the World Indoor Championships. Of course, we are so proud, our entire nation is so proud. Of course, when you've won a medal, they say St Lucia wins it, so I can see every single individual really, really enjoying what we just witnessed today,” Casimir told SportsMax.TV.

“Of course, I want to say congratulations to her family, Julian is somebody from humble, humble, humble beginnings from Castries, St Lucia, and she's doing so well, and we just look forward to even bigger and better things later on this year at the Olympic Games,” he added.

On that note, Casimir declared his government’s intentions to continue throwing the necessary support behind Alfred as she continues to progress in her budding career.

“We certainly believe that there's more to come from Julien. She is young. She has worked really hard her entire life from coming from the Leon Hess comprehensive secondary school and going over to high school in Jamaica and then later on to Texas.

“She has really worked extremely hard and so as a government, we continue to put our resources behind her as she has transitioned so effectively into being a professional. And of course, with Coach Flo behind her from the University of Texas, we only expect bigger and better things from Julien Alfred,” he shared.

Earlier, Jamaica’s Rusheen McDonald clocked a new personal best 45.65s for bronze in the men’s 400m.

McDonald produced his usual late burst to secure his first ever indoor medal, and in the process became the first ever global male 400m medallist for coach Stephen Francis.

The event was won by Belgium’s Alexander Doom in a new national record 45.25s, ahead of World and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm, who clocked a season’s best 45.34s.

McDonald's bronze is Jamaica's third at the Championships, as Ackeem Blake and Carey McLeod, also won bronze in the men's 60m and long jump respectively.

Sherdon Cowan

Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.

Related items

  • Alfred grateful for continued recognition after Olympic success in Paris Alfred grateful for continued recognition after Olympic success in Paris

    St. Lucian Olympic champion Julien Alfred is grateful to continue to receive recognition for her historic achievements at the Paris Olympics in August.

    On Wednesday, the 23-year-old took home the award of best female athlete of Paris 2024 at the Association of National Olympic Committee (ANOC) Awards ceremony held in Cascais, Portugal.

    Alfred stormed to a historic 100m gold medal in Paris, the first Olympic medal in St. Lucia’s history.

    “It’s truly an amazing feeling getting the love and support. I was not expecting so many praises, tonight especially, but it’s an amazing feeling knowing that my sacrifices and hard work are being celebrated and I’m truly grateful for it,” Alfred said after receiving her award.

    She also spoke of her status as a role model for youngsters in St. Lucia and the importance of making them feel like nothing is impossible once you work towards it.

    “It’s truly inspiring. Growing up, I looked at Usain Bolt and Levern Spencer, one of my countrywomen, but to be able to be standing here inspiring the youth is something that I’ve always dreamt of and it makes me feel like all my hard work is paying off,” she said.

    “Now it’s time to continue to inspire the nation and the youth that no matter where you’re from, you can always work towards your dream,” she added.

    Another history maker, Botswana’s 200m Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, took home the award for best male athlete at Paris 2024.

    The award for best male team went to Denmark Handball while the best female team went to Italy Volleyball.

    The best male team in individual sports award went to Japan Artistic Gymnastics while the female award went to Great Britain Track Cycling.

    Austria’s Lukas Mahr and Lara Vadlau took home the award for best mixed team while Chinese six-time Olympic Table Tennis champion Ma Long and New Zealand’s eight-time Olympic gold medallist in canoeing Lisa Carrington took home the male and female outstanding career awards, respectively.

  • Lifespan Spring Water throws support behind Pink Run Lifespan Spring Water throws support behind Pink Run

    There were 1208 new cases of Breast Cancer in Jamaica in 2020, in fact, it is estimated that 1 in 21 women will get the disease. It is the most common form of cancer in the island with an estimated 637 deaths.

    The Annual Pink Run for Breast Cancer Awareness, which took place on October 26th is designed to break the stigma around the disease and raise awareness while at the same time raising critical funds for organizations dedicated to fighting breast cancer and supporting individuals affected by it.

    Lifespan Spring Water recognizing the crucial nature of the event and the cause, immediately threw its support behind the run as hydration sponsor. “Knowing that cancer of the breast is the most common cancer among Jamaican women, we are taking a positive step to raise awareness and provide tangible support to our students who have taken on this life saving project,” said Nayana Williams CEO Lifespan.

    “Our vision is longevity for the Jamaican people, so doing our part to reduce this scourge is in keeping with who we are”, she added.

    The event kicked off at 6.45am on Saturday at the UWI Guild location where Lifespan erected water stations at the start/end and 2 spots along the way.

    “We are honoured to have Lifespan be a participating sponsor in this event to ensure that our participants remain hydrated and energized throughout the day. With Lifespan being a trusted provider of clean, natural spring water, we believe that your brand aligns perfectly with the health and wellness focus of the event,” commented Michael John External Affairs Chairperson UWI Guild.

    Emerging from the race as Male winners were Matthew Hutchinson (1st) Rolando Rednan (2nd) Jaheim Murdock (3rd).

    In the Female category, the winners were Paula Kay Clarke (1st) Colleen Scott (2nd) Tannice Anglin (3rd).

    The Pink Run forms part of the Pink-Tober series of events.

  • Flawless victory: Ja's Cavalier maul Dom Rep's Moca FC 7-0 to book spot in Caribbean Cup final Flawless victory: Ja's Cavalier maul Dom Rep's Moca FC 7-0 to book spot in Caribbean Cup final

    Jamaica’s reigning Premier League champions Cavalier FC booked a spot in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup final for a second consecutive year after they mauled Dominican Republic’s Moca FC 7-0 in a lopsided second leg semifinal tie at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

    A hat-trick from Suriname's Shaquille Stein (6th, 45+3, 62nd) and a brace from Trinidad and Tobago’s Kaile Auvray (1st, 51st) did most of the damage for Cavalier, while Christopher Ainsworth (39th) and Dwayne Atkinson (79th) also got in on the act.

    With the win, Cavalier, who lost last year’s final to Suriname’s Robinhood, now have a shot at redemption as they await the winner of the second semi-final between Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC and Haiti’s Real Hope in the showpiece. By virtue of making the final, Cavalier also secured a return to next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

    Head coach Rudolph Speid was pleased but also surprised at the margin of victory, especially after being held to a goalless stalemate in the first leg.

    “It was very pleasing. We didn’t expect to win by such a large margin; however, this is our third time playing them, so they aren’t strangers to us,” Speid said.

    Cavalier wasted little time to make their intentions known as Auvray found the opener shortly after kickoff when he drove home a firm left-footer from a distance.

    The Jamaican team struck again before Moca could regroup as Stein expertly headed home from Jalmaro Calvin’s weighted cross five minutes later.

    Ainsworth extended the lead when he converted from the penalty spot as Moca FC’s custodian Miguel Baez was left flat-footed.

    Stein then notched his second and Cavalier’s fourth with another comfortable finish as they went to the break 4-0 up.

    With the writing on the wall, frustration set in, and Moca lost Baez and Jesus Correa to straight red cards and, as such, contested the second half with nine players.

    Cavalier showed no mercy and made full use of the numerical advantage when Auvray completed his brace with another well-struck effort from outside the 18-yard box.

    Stein completed his hat-trick soon after to move his tally to seven so far in the tournament, before Atkinson added his name to the scoresheet from the penalty spot 11 minutes from time.

    Despite the loss, Moca FC still stand a chance of making the Champions Cup, provided they come out tops in the third-place playoff.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.