Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred is happy with where her strength is right now heading into the World Championships in Tokyo in September.

The Saint Lucian superstar produced a personal best world-leading 21.71 to claim a dominant victory in the 200m at the London Diamond League earlier on Saturday.

The 2024 World Indoor 60m champion started the race quickly, entering the final 100m with a decent lead before using that strength to power away from the field and win comfortably ahead of training partner Dina Asher-Smith (22.25) and Amy Hunt (22.31).

“I feel good. I’m a little more confident going into Tokyo now seeing my strength,” she said in an interview with CITIUS MAG after the race.

Alfred spent much of her indoor season running longer races. She competed in the 300m twice, once in the 400m and once in a 4x400m relay.

She established new national records in both the 300m Short Track and 400m Short Track.

The incorporation of those longer races into her schedule have, no doubt, aided with her improved strength that should take her to new heights, especially in the 200m.

“It’s just a matter of time for it to come out. It comes down to trusting my coach and trusting God knowing that it’s all going to come out when it needs to,” she said.

Coming off her first loss of the season at the Prefontaine Classic two weeks ago, Alfred noted that her confidence remains high, placing her focus on the big picture and not just producing fast times.

“I was confident in this race in particular, however, I think after Prefontaine I had a change of mindset. I didn’t win but now I’m at a point in life where it’s just about me working my way to the top,” she said.

“I’m a double world leader right now but I care more about medals so it’s not really on my back as much as it’s on somebody else’s back. I look at it that way,” she added.