"More of somebody who prefers medals over time"- Julien Alfred defines focus ahead of Sha'Carri Richardson & Melissa Jefferson-Wooden showdown

Olympic 100m gold medalist Julien Alfred has defined what she prioritizes between winning a medal and clocking a faster time for the World Athletics Championships 2025. She will be leading Saint Lucia’s charge at the World Championships in both 100m and 200m events.

Alfred has won every 100m and 200m race she has competed in this season, except for the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic, where she lost to Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. It was a nail-biting race, with the USA athlete clocking 10.75s and Alfred finishing in 10.77s, losing by just 0.02s.

Ahead of her showdown against Jefferson-Wooden in the 100m and 200m and reigning Olympic champion Sha'Carri Richardson in the 100m, Julien Alfred has prioritized winning the gold medal as she explained her perspective on the reason behind it. In a recent interview with Olympics.com, the 24-year-old said:

“I'm really excited for what the season holds. I have been training and preparing for the big dance World Championships. That’s really my goal. I’m more of somebody who prefers medals over time. So, if it comes down to just a slow time, but I have a gold medal, I'm sure you will remember me as a gold medallist, rather than running a slower time.”

So far in the 2025 season, Alfred has season bests of 10.75s in the 100m, clocked at the Stockholm Diamond League, and 21.71s in the 200m, a new national record she set at the London Diamond League meet.

On the other hand, Jefferson-Wooden has season bests of 10.65s in the 100m and 21.84s in the 200m, achieved at the USATF Championships, where she claimed gold in both events. Sha'Carri Richardson, who qualified for the Worlds with a bye, has a season-best of 11.05s, however, her experience could make a huge impact in the race in Tokyo.

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Julien Alfred reflects on after winning the Zurich Diamond League Final 2025

Julien Alfred at 2025 Diamond League - Weltklasse Zurich. Source: Getty

Julien Alfred shared her thoughts after defending the Diamond League Final title in Zurich in 2025. She addressed the injury talk, indicating that she was dealing with minor setbacks and not something severe.

In the post-race interview, she also discussed working on small details for the World Championships 2025 while speaking about the DL finals, adding:

“It is my first race back in five weeks so it is like one step forward to me. I am not thinking about the time. It was about putting up the first and the second part. Now, I am working on little things before Tokyo. I have a great team and they help me with the things like media attention and pressure. I feel like I want to add another gold in my collection.”

Besides crediting her team and declaring her ambitions for another gold medal, Alfred also shared feeling more stronger and confident now than earlier in the season.