Usain Bolt leaves Olympic gold medalist Julien Alfred perplexed: "My heart is pounding"

Olympic gold medalist Julien Alfred was left surprised when she received the opportunity to meet her 'idol', Usain Bolt, at the Oslo Diamond League. The 24-year-old was giving an interview when she saw the legendary athlete walk into the stadium and decided to take her chance to go and meet him for the first time.

After witnessing immense success in 2024, Alfred began her 2025 campaign with great momentum, which included winning the title at the Tom Jones Memorial in the 200m with a performance of 21.88s. The athlete from Saint Lucia has been very selective with her appearances in 2025 as she aims to clinch the first outdoor World Championship title of her career later this year.

While gearing up to compete in the Oslo Diamond League in Norway, Julien Alfred had a dream-come-true moment. She shared that her heart was racing when she saw Usain Bolt enter the stadium and temporarily halted her interview to meet the legendary athlete.

"What! My idol. Never met him. Now is my chance. My heart is pounding. I’ll be right back,” she said.

After meeting Usain Bolt, Alfred spoke about being inspired by the Jamaican athlete from a very young age and revealed that she always wanted to be like him. Even though Julien Alfred went to school in Jamaica for three years, she never got the chance to meet Bolt and expressed her gratitude for receiving the opportunity ahead of the Oslo Diamond League.

" I mean, he has been my idol since I was young. I always wanted to be like him, and I went to school in Jamaica for three years, didn't meet him, and now I finally get a chance to meet him. So, it's such an honor," she added.

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Julien Alfred opens up about looking up to Usain Bolt as a young athlete

Julien Alfred at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Julien Alfred spoke about looking up to Usain Bolt as a young athlete in an interview with The Telegraph. The athlete from Saint Lucia shared that she cringes whenever she thinks about it now; however, back in the day, she would watch all his races and cheer for him every time, since there weren't any athletes from her home country.

Moreover, Alfred shared that she was inspired by Bolt's never-give-up mentality on the track.

"In grade six, we were asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, and I said 'the female Usain Bolt. It's very cringe saying it now, but I wanted to be just like him. I grew up watching him, watching all his races. We didn't have any St Lucians in the race, so I was always wanting him to win. I wanted Usain Bolt to win; he was my idol. I looked up to him,” she said.

Alfred will be making her 100m season debut at the Oslo Diamond League on June 12, 2025.