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• September 27 declared National Holiday in honour of Olympic champion Julien Alfred: some say it's not enough

  In a historic moment for Saint Lucia, September 27 will officially be declared "Julien Alfred Day," a national holiday in honor of Julien Alfred, who became the first athlete from the island to win an Olympic gold medal. Alfred made history by claiming gold in the 100 meters with a lifetime best and national record of 10.72 seconds, and also secured a silver medal in the 200 meters at the Paris Olympic Games. No St Lucian athlete had ever won an Olympic medal before her extraordinary achievement.

  Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre made the announcement during a pre-cabinet press briefing on Monday, unveiling the grand celebrations planned for Alfred's return to the island. Alfred, who has become a national hero, will return to Saint Lucia on September 24 for the first time since her Olympic triumph. A series of events has been organized to mark the occasion, including a motorcade, school rallies, and a mural unveiling, culminating in a national holiday on September 27.

  The celebrations will begin on September 24 when Alfred returns to Saint Lucia, where she will be greeted with a motorcade along the East Coast. On September 25, national school rallies will be held at Soufriere Mini Stadium and La Resource Playing Field to celebrate her achievements. The following day, September 26, Alfred will visit The Ciceron Primary School for the unveiling of a mural in her honour, followed by what officials have described as "massive announcements."

  "Julien Alfred Day" will be celebrated with a free concert at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on the evening of the holiday, with Saint Lucians being encouraged to come out in large numbers to honor their national icon.

  In response to the Prime Minister's announcement, citizens expressed their gratitude and pride, while also calling for further recognition of Alfred's accomplishments. Some suggested that Alfred should be awarded a diplomatic passport and the keys to the city of Castries. Others proposed the establishment of a Julien Alfred Fund for elite athletes and a legacy project aimed at developing sports in Saint Lucia to a world-class level.

  Alfred’s achievements have not only brought immense pride to Saint Lucia but have also placed the island on the global athletics map. Her gold and silver medals at the Paris Olympics have inspired a new generation of athletes in Saint Lucia, and the celebrations are expected to be a momentous occasion of national unity and pride.

  With the announcement of "Julien Alfred Day," Saint Lucians are set to celebrate not only Alfred's success but also the potential of their small island to produce world-class athletes who can compete and succeed on the biggest stages in sport.

• Adelle Tracey determined to bounce back after injury setback at Paris Olympics

  Jamaican middle-distance runner Adelle Tracey is determined to return stronger after an injury hampered her 2024 Paris Olympic campaign, preventing her from making the finals of both the 800m and 1500m. Despite this disappointment, Tracey, who switched her allegiance to Jamaica in 2022 after representing Great Britain, remains motivated and focused on the future. She is eager to build on her recent successes, including breaking Jamaica's 1500m national record at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

  Tracey’s Olympic season was derailed by a plantar fascia tear that first occurred in May. The injury, which she sustained just before the start of the season, forced her to make significant adjustments to her preparation. “The tear first happened, actually in May. I was supposed to compete at the Diamond League in Eugene, and that was going to be one of my first races of the season. And literally the week before, I tore it in training. I couldn’t walk for a good week after that happened,” she explained.

  Despite the setback, Tracey remained hopeful and kept pushing her season opener back while cross-training to maintain her fitness. “The whole time, I was cross training really hard because I was in great shape in May, just before I did it, so I was really kind of positive that I would hold on to some of that fitness,” she said. However, the pain from the injury persisted, especially with the demands placed on her foot. “It was just really tough because when it's a foot injury, there's no avoiding the pain because you put so much force through your feet,” she said, her anguish apparent.

  

  At the Jamaican trials, Tracey pushed herself to compete in spikes for the first time since her injury, despite not being fully ready. “I set myself back a little bit at the Jamaican trials, having to put myself in spikes so early, but obviously I wanted to make sure that I secured automatic qualification for the Olympics,” she shared.

  Reflecting on the mental challenge of competing while injured, Tracey admitted it was one of the toughest experiences of her career. “It’s so tough, especially the timing of this one, probably the hardest challenge I’ve had to overcome in sport,” she revealed. ” I worked harder than I’ve ever worked to get to that start line and be able to get round. So there was a lot of pride in even making it there and being able to put on spikes that week.”

  Despite not being at her best, Tracey remained focused on giving her all in Paris. “My main goal was to race my best race. I just wanted to come away thinking, okay, I’ve actually done everything I could there, and I know that that's going to be so much easier when I'm healthy.”

  While her Olympic campaign didn’t go as planned, Tracey’s earlier achievement at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest was a reminder of her talent and potential. In Budapest, she broke Yvonne Graham’s 28-year-old Jamaican 1500m record, clocking 3:58.77 in the semi-finals to become the first Jamaican woman to run under four minutes in the event. That performance solidified her status as a rising star in Jamaican athletics.

   

  Now out of the boot that she had worn to protect her injury, Tracey has begun the rehabilitation process and is feeling optimistic about the future. “With a plantar fascia tear, it's just a case of healing. I wasn’t able to give it time to heal because I was trying to prepare for the Olympics, but now it's just a case of letting it heal. Now that I’ve come out of the boot, it’s about getting strong again and making sure that I have the proportions in place so that that doesn’t happen again,” she explained.

  Tracey is already looking ahead to her recovery and the coming season. “I’ll start my rehab program, and I think I’ll probably do two weeks of strength and conditioning before I’ll be able to start returning to running. It might be like two minutes on, one minute off sort of running, and we’ll just build that back up.”

  Despite the challenges, Tracey remains driven to return to competition in even better shape. “I think I’m more motivated than ever to kind of get back to where I was and beyond that,” she said. “I’ve got my sights set on the indoors as well because of not having the opportunities to have raced as much this year. I know I’ll be back running by the end of September, so actually, I’m ahead of schedule in terms of preparations for next year.”

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• United States mentality issues to blame for Canada loss

  The United States must tackle some concerning mentality issues, which are to blame for their defeat to Canada.

  That is the view of interim coach Mikey Varas, who has few answers for solving the problem.

  USA were beaten 2-1 by Canada in Kansas City on Saturday, in their first game of the post-Gregg Berhalter era.

  It marked Canada's first victory on US soil in 67 years.

  And while Mauricio Pochettino reportedly waits in the wings to take over the Stars and Stripes, Varas hit out at the team's mentality.

  "The mentality is on the players. They know it," he told reporters.

  "We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can't do that for them. That's on them.

  "I'm not a psychologist, so I don't know. I felt that the training [sessions] were intense. They were aggressive.

  "But when the game comes, you gotta get going. And the players are the ones that bring that. Coaches can only get you so far from a mentality perspective."

  Varas did shoulder some of the blame, too, suggesting he may have tried to introduce too many new ideas, too soon.

  "I think on the ball, that's on me," he said.

  "I want to present some ideas to them and you just never know how it's going to translate from training to the game after three training sessions. And I asked a lot of them, you know, and if there's a goal, I mean, that's on me.

  "When you don't have a lot of time to work and you want to play a certain way it creates confusion.

  "Players are going to take responsibility for quality of action. The translation of the ideas wasn't clear enough because you shouldn't be static and you shouldn't pass the ball just to pass the ball. You're trying to be trying to accelerate play as quickly as you can."