Julien Alfred stormed to the women’s 100m title at Paris 2024 to make history as St Lucia’s first Olympic medallist.
As the rain teemed down at a raucous Stade de France, Alfred, 23, dominated the final and took victory by a clear margin in a national record 10.72 seconds.
St Lucia, a Caribbean island of fewer than 200,000 people, has fielded athletes at seven previous Olympic Games without winning a medal.
But Alfred has broken her nation’s duck – and takes home a stunning gold – following her heroics in a Paris downpour.
American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson took silver in 10.87, with compatriot Melissa Jefferson (10.92) third.
Great Britain’s Daryll Neita finished four-hundredths of a second off the podium in fourth, crossing the line in 10.96.
Neita produced the best finish by a British female athlete in an Olympic sprint final for 64 years but that will be of little consolation in her pursuit of a first individual global medal.
“I’m finding it hard to find words at the minute, literally speechless, so close to the medal, so close,” Neita told BBC Sport.
“I’m healthy and I have the 200m to contest. I was so close to that medal and I really want that medal but fourth in the Olympics is something to be proud of.”
Her British team-mates Dina Asher-Smith and Imani-Lara Lansiquot earlier failed to make the final, while Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce withdrew from the competition before her semi-final.
Asher-Smith finished fifth in her semi-final in 11.10 and Lansiquot missed out after running 11.21. Neita and Asher-Smith will both now target a medal in the 200m, which starts on Sunday morning.
