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• 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. 

• Djokovic: Murray is 'perfect' coach to help execute 'big plans'

  Novak Djokovic believes former rival Andy Murray is the "perfect" coach for him at this stage of his career as he still has "big plans".

  The Serb, a 24-time grand slam winner, announced last week that Murray, who retired after the Paris Olympics, would be working with him during the off-season and through the Australian Open.

  Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in August. It is also the first time since 2005 that he did not win an ATP event despite reaching two finals.

  Djokovic admitted Murray did not agree to the role straight away, but he thinks it is the best decision he could have come to.

  "I took about six months to figure out what I needed at this stage of my career," he told Sky Sports.

  "I realised the perfect coach would be someone who has been through the experiences I'm going through, possibly a multiple grand slam winner and world number one.

  "We discussed Andy Murray, and I said I would give him a call and see how it goes. It caught him a little off guard. We connected really fast, and he accepted after a few days.

  "I couldn't be more excited about it. This collaboration is a surprise to everyone, including me, but it's exciting for tennis."

  Djokovic is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player and needs one more to become the outright leader.

  He has a good record in Australia, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals, with the first major of next season starting on January 12.

  The 37-year-old is the only one of the 'Big Four' still playing after Murray and Rafael Nadal's retirements this year, and Roger Federer's in 2022, but he shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

  "We all know we have to stop and say goodbye at some point," he added. "Even though it was expected for Rafa and Andy, both of them saying farewell to the sport is a shock for all of us.

  "My body is serving me well; I still have motivation to win grand slams. The reason I asked Andy to work with me is because I still have big plans.

  "I'll keep going as much as I can feel like I can keep being a candidate for the biggest titles."

• Halep questions 'big difference' in doping punishments after Swiatek ban

  Simona Halep has hit out at the "big difference" in how doping cases are handled in tennis after Iga Swiatek was handed a one-month ban on Thursday. 

  World number two Swiatek accepted the one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said. 

  Two-time Grand Slam champion Halep, meanwhile, was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat and later banned for four years in September 2023. 

  The ban was then reduced to nine months after the Romanian's appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March this year. 

  "I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgement?" Halep posted on Instagram.

  "I can't find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer. It can only be bad will from ITIA, the organisation that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence."

  While reducing Swiatek's ban, the ITIA accepted that the positive test was caused by contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin which the five-time Grand Slam champion took for jet lag and sleep issues.

  Halep, 33, had also argued that she had taken a contaminated supplement.

  "I lost two years of my career, I lost many nights when I couldn't sleep, thoughts, anxiety, questions without answers," Halep said. 

  "How is it possible that in identical cases happening around the same time, ITIA to have completely different approaches to my detriment?"

  Meanwhile, the ITIA has said that there were "very important differences" between the two cases. 

  "No two cases are the same, they often involve different circumstances, and direct comparisons are not always helpful," the ITIA told BBC Sport.

  "The product contaminated in Ms Swiatek's case was a regulated medication, not a supplement."