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Julien Alfred believed the scheduling differences between the men and women's sprint events was vital in her loss to Gabby Thomas in the Olympic 200m final.
Following her historic feat at Paris 2024 Games, Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred believes the sprint scheduling differences played a vital role in her 200m final loss to Gabby Thomas.
The St. Lucian speed queen's iconic thrill of winning the 100m final against Sha'Carri Richardson was one of the highlight moments at the Games - a remarkable achievement given that Saint Lucia had never had anyone on an Olympic podium before Paris.
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11:43 - 17.08.2024
Julien Alfred: How Sha'Carri Richardson's defeat made St. Lucia second on online searches and a tourist destination
St. Lucia is now second on online searches and a tourist destination, all thanks to Julien Alfred's Paris 2024 Olympics 100m victory against Sha'Carri Richardson.
Not resting on her oars, Alfred added a silver medal in the 200m event behind Thomas, which she believes the tight scheduling and no rest day between both events affected her performance due to fatique.
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“Not many people spoke about it, but the men got a rest day but the women didn’t. Six races in five days take it out of you," said Alfred in an exclusive interview with thetimes.com.
“A lot goes into 10.72 and the body goes to a place it has never been before. After the 100m, there was drug-testing and the media and I only slept for about two hours with all the adrenaline,” she added.
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“I lay in bed going back over what I had done. Yes it is physical, but it is emotional and mental too. I don’t wish to speak of this as an excuse, but I wish I had more rest for the 200m.”
The American Thomas, the 200m winner, was the hot favourite and might well have won regardless, but she was undoubtedly fresher having not competed in the 100m.
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23:04 - 03.08.2024
Paris 2024: St. Lucia goes wild in celebrations for Julien Alfred's stunning Olympic 100m gold medal
Julien Alfred unarguably cemented her name as the best female sprinter this season following her stunning Paris 2024 Olympic title over Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m final, which has her country in wild celebrations.
Justin Gatlin airs his frustrations, supports Julien Alfred on sprint scheduling differences
Retired American sprinter Justin Gatlin also expressed his frustrations over the scheduling differences between the men's and women's sprint events at the Paris Olympics.
The Athens 2004 Olympic champion referenced that the extra day between the heats and semifinals for the male sprinters was an unfair advantage compared to their female counterparts.
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“I don't even know who I need to pick this bone with, but if anybody's listening know where to direct this to, why did the women get less time to prepare from the 100 to the 200 when the men had a day off to rest their body and go out there and run a little more fresher than the women did? I feel like that was an unfair advantage in a lot of ways,” he stated on the Ready Set Go Podcast show.
Gatlin further revealed that the challenges faced by sprinters competing in both the 100m and 200m are usually hectic and consideration should be given to scheduling differences.
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“And when you're doubling, regardless of it's at a World Championships or the Olympics, it's a hard feat to do to be able to run three rounds at 100. After you ran that 100, you go to press conference, you might be up to one o'clock in the morning because then you gotta go get something to eat,” Gatlin explained.
“Now you gotta go do drug testing. Now you gotta make sure your body goes to a therapist and you make sure your body's ready for the first round of 200, which is the next day. Then, you gotta go the day after that to run the semis and then the day after that to run the finals. So, those six days back to back was going to be a task for anybody.”
Justin Gatlin praises Julien Alfred for Paris 2024 Olympics heroic exploits
Aside Alfred, Noah Lyles (men's 100m champion and 200m bronze medallist), Letsile Tebogo (200m champion and 100m finalist), Kenny Bednarek (200m silver medallist and 100m finalist), and Daryll Neita (women's 100m and 200m finalist), where the only sprinters to effectively combine both events in Paris.
"So, shout out to Julian. She did an amazing job of maintaining herself and still got on the podium for both," said Gatlin, praising Alfred for the amazing performances she produced despite the difficulties.
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