SHE CAME READY. Julien Alfred looked every bit like the woman who won the 100 at the Olympics in forging a 10.88 win while soundly avenging her Weltklasse loss to Sha’Carri Richardson last week. The St. Lucian started in lane 5, with resurgent Dina Asher-Smith to her left and the winner of the U.S. Trials to her right.
With a sparse 0.2 wind at her back, Alfred bolted out of the blocks in fine style, with training partner Asher-Smith just as sharp at the get-go. Richardson, however, immediately took the side step to the right that seems diagnostic of her poorer starts, as if she were trying to regain balance.
As Alfred quickly reached top speed with Britain’s Asher-Smith pressing her hard, Richardson shut down and allowed most of the rest to pass her. Veteran Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith showed herself to be the best of the rest, battling down the straight with Daryll Neita and Luxembourgian Patrizia van der Weken.
Alfred extended her lead slightly before crossing in 10.88 to Asher-Smith’s 10.92. Ta Lou-Smith grabbed 3rd in 11.05, followed by Neita (11.14) and van der Weken (11.16). Richardson finished next-to-last in 11.23.
“It was really hard for me after Zürich,” admitted Alfred. “But I think that actually prepared me for Brussels. That gave me the energy to do so good today. I had to perform. I wanted to prove to myself that I deserve to be here. After Zürich I watched the race on YouTube and I read some comments that said I was a one-time thing and that´s really not nice to say. I was here to prove to myself that I can win.”
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