Alfred Julien, the double Olympic medallist from St. Lucia, received a warm and emotional welcome at the Hewanorra International Airport on Tuesday.
The airport was crowded with residents who came from far away just to see a glimpse of Alfred Julian. They cheered her up by calling her names and as the nation’s hero. Alfred watched this when she came down from the airplane and was overwhelmed by the love and support.
The Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Philip J. Pierre, also honored Alfred at the welcome party along with members of the St Lucia government and representatives of the St Lucia Olympic Committee.
Julien Alfred is the first woman from St Lucia to win two medals in one Olympics. She ended the year 2024 on a high note by winning the gold medal in the Diamond League. She went ahead and gave her thanks to family, friends, and supporters in St. Lucia, as well as her coach, Edrick Floréal, and mentor Cuthbert’ Twatiné’ Modeste.
She stated, “Even when I gave up, he [Modeste] came back to look for me in Ciceron. So many people have guided me and helped me to get to this point, and I really just want to say thank you to all of you, even those I haven’t mentioned. I just want to say thank you.”
Alfred also opened up about the struggles she faced during this journey and said, “It was truly a rocky road. Many days I wanted to just give up, throw in the towel, and just say, ‘I’m done.” But with the encouragement from her village and other people that received made her go through tough times .
Alfred also said that she wanted to become a role model for the youth of St. Lucia. She wanted her success to encourage others who look forward to success like the legends of St. Lucia sports, such as high jumper Levern Spencer and cricketer Daren Sammy.
Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre also talked about Julien’s recent achievements at the Olympic Games transcend sports. He also pointed out that they have been a source of inspiration to the youth of St Lucia.
Minister of Youth Development and Sports Kenson Casimir compared Alfred’s success to a blessing from God at the welcome party, as St. Lucia is the nation named after a woman.
He added, “And it is a woman who has taken us to the pinnacle of the entire globe. We are blessed because we have the perfect representative of a St. Lucian taking us to that level. Somebody who is kind. Somebody who loves people, somebody who is generous and humble. That person is Julien Alfred.”
