Olympic Games 100m Women gold medallist Julien Alfred has revealed US sensation Sha' Carri Richardson is not her only rival despite the growing rivalry between the pair.At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Julien Alfred breezed to the finish line in a sizzling 10.72s to become the first-ever athlete from Saint Lucia - a small Island with over 180,000 inhabitants - to win an Olympic medal.Among the athletes who were left in Alfred's wake as she cruised to her trail-blazing achievement was US sprinter Sha' Carri Richardson.The pair had earlier squared off at the 2023 World Championship, where Sha' Carri blew away the field and stormed to the finish line in a jaw-dropping time of 10.65s.
Richardson then proceeded to the Olympic Games with a world-leading time of 10.71s after attaining the feat at the US Olympic trials.Despite Alfred's brilliance, she was unable to take down Richardson's world lead time but at stake was something worth more than the world lead - an Olympic medal.Heading into the final of the 100m, marquee names such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson had pulled out due to injuries, leaving the field for Saint Lucias' Julien Alfred, USA's Melissa Jefferson, Great Britain's Daryll Neita, Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, USA's Sha'Carri Richardson, Jamaica's Tia Clayton, Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji, and USA's Twanisha Terry.Julian raced clear of the pack as she clinched the title.Despite her strong rivalry with Richardson, in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, she downplayed the fierce competition between the pair, saying: "We always want some competition.
She [Sha' Carri Richardson] is definitely not my only rival on the track, they are all my rivals.
I mean, it's not just one person.