St. Lucia's first Olympic medalist returns home to cheers and calypso

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — As the first St. Lucian to win an Olympic medal, sprinter Julien Alfred already has poems, paintings and even a calypso song dedicated to her.

On Tuesday, officials announced that Sept. 27 would be Julien Alfred Day, as the 23-year-old known as “JuJu” returned home to the eastern Caribbean island where she once ran barefoot as a child.

“I’m truly lost for words,” she told Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and other government officials who gathered to celebrate her before organizing a motorcade for thousands of impatient fans waiting outside, some of whom came from as far away as London.

The gold medal that Alfred won in the 100-meter sprint at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the silver medal she earned in the 200-meter sprint hung around her neck.

She thanked her mother, the government, her coach and others, including “my village.”

“So many people have guided me along the way and helped me to get to this point,” she said as her voice broke. “It didn’t come easy. It was truly a rocky road. Many days I just wanted to give up.”

Alfred quit running when she was around 12 years old after her father died. Her coach convinced her to run again and then she moved to Jamaica as a teenager to train. At the University of Texas she became a multiple NCAA champion.

On Tuesday afternoon, fire-breathing dancers greeted Alfred as she prepared to climb into a blue sports car to start the motorcade. Fans high-fived her and requested selfies, with one young girl handing her a tennis shoe for an autograph as she smiled shyly.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” yelled security as they tried to get Alfred into the car.

With a large St. Lucia flag draped on her back, Alfred waved and blew kisses to people lined up to greet her.

“Come on out, St. Lucia, let’s wave and join this celebratory moment!” said one woman who was narrating a live video of the motorcade as calypso music blared.

Gathered along the road were elderly people, young fathers holding babies and a group of schoolgirls in brown uniforms who chanted “JuJu! JuJu!” as they giggled and gathered around her for a hug as the motorcade slowed down.

Another woman shouted, “Love from Jamaica, my gyal!”

The hourslong motorcade wound its way through lush green mountains as the sky turned a soft pink. A group of motorcycle riders on the side of the road revved their engines for Alfred, while a fire station activated its siren as she rode past. Assistants provided Alfred with water and eye drops as she continued to greet people, rarely dropping her arms as fans crowded the motorcade, including one man waving a large palm frond.

When she reached her hometown of Ciceron, Alfred got out of the car and hugged the crowd waiting for her in the rain.

Prior to winning two Olympic medals, Alfred won a gold medal in the 60 meters at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, also a first for St. Lucia.

At the Olympics, she ran the 100-meter race in 10.72 seconds, beating favorite Sha’Carri Richardson and dedicating the win to her father.

“He believed I could be an Olympian. That I can be here,” Alfred said at the time.

Earlier this month, Alfred also won the women’s 100 meters during the Diamond League final 2024 athletics meet in Brussels.

The celebration for Alfred on the island of 238 square miles (617 square kilometers) is expected to continue for at least two more days, with a rally scheduled for Wednesday and a visit to a primary school on Thursday.

T.C. Brown, a local songwriter and producer, told the St. Lucia Times last week that he was inspired to write “Merci JuJu” in her honor.

He was quoted as saying that at the time of the win, everyone was saying, ‘Thank you, Julien Alfred. But, he said, referring to a local dialect, "Kwéyòl has a much sweeter way of expressing the message.”