Saint Lucia’s Alfred storms to Monaco Diamond League 200m gold in 21.51

Saint Lucian Olympic sprint champion Julien Alfred sealed gold in the women’s 200 metres at the Monaco Diamond League with a landmark run. The 25-year-old stopped the clock in 21.51 seconds, a fresh meet record and Saint Lucia national record, as she finished clear of Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands and American Gabrielle Thomas.

Alfred and Thomas were neck and neck approaching the home straight before Alfred pulled away for the 21.51 victory, trimming her personal best by two-tenths of a second. That mark stands as the quickest in the world this season and the third-fastest performance of all time, trailing only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 21.34 seconds and Shericka Jackson’s 21.41 seconds.

Hodge had arrived in Monaco as the year’s leading performer after running 21.68 seconds at the NCAA Championships in Eugene last month. She closed strongly for silver in 21.76 seconds, moving past Thomas, who took bronze in 21.84 seconds.

“I have been preparing for this for such a long time, to finally see it pay off, I am just happy. I didn’t realise how fast it was till I crossed the line. I looked at the clock and saw my time and that’s why I was screaming like at the Olympics,” Alfred said after the race. “There are no limits right now. Today, I was actually hoping to see 21.6, I got 21.5, so I am happy nonetheless.”