Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / Small Island, Big Dreams: Julien Alfred On Channeling Grief Into Greatness, Stepping Away to Reset & Embracing Her Race-Day Alter Ego

Transcript

Small Island, Big Dreams: Julien Alfred On Channeling Grief Into Greatness, Stepping Away to Reset & Embracing Her Race-Day Alter Ego · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

0:00
Speaker 1: Small island, big things like you can just do whatever
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Speaker 1: you put your mind to the matter where you're.
0:04
Speaker 2: From, Hurdlers, what's going on, Emily?
0:21
Speaker 3: Here?
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Speaker 2: You are listening to another episode of Hurdle, a podcast
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Speaker 2: featuring the mindset, secrets, and true stories of the most
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Speaker 2: inspiring women in sports and wellness, empowering you to live
0:31
Speaker 2: a healthier, happier, more motivated life and of course, conquer
0:35
Speaker 2: your own hurdles. This week, I am sitting down with
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Speaker 2: Olympic champion and indoor World Champion Julian Alfred. This woman
0:45
Speaker 2: needs no introduction in the track world, but if you've
0:47
Speaker 2: been following along with her season, you know she has
0:50
Speaker 2: been on an absolute tear, most recently coming off huge
0:54
Speaker 2: wins from the Diamond League. If you are unfamiliar with
0:58
Speaker 2: the sport, the Wanded diamon In League is track and
1:01
Speaker 2: fields premier global circuit. So what that means is that
1:04
Speaker 2: it's an elite series of top tier international meets held
1:10
Speaker 2: across the world and it brings together the fastest and
1:13
Speaker 2: most accomplished professional athletes on the planet to compete at
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Speaker 2: the highest level outside of what we are more exposed to,
1:21
Speaker 2: which is the Olympics and World Championships, Olympics once every
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Speaker 2: four years, World Championships every other year. Now, Julian has
1:31
Speaker 2: been dominating these global stages, putting on a clinic in
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Speaker 2: the sprint events and backing up her Olympic title with
1:37
Speaker 2: statement victories against world class fields. In our conversation today,
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Speaker 2: we talk through the mental and physical grit behind those performances,
1:45
Speaker 2: how she navigates a mental pressure while representing Saint Lucia,
1:49
Speaker 2: the power of protecting her inner piece, and what it
1:52
Speaker 2: really takes to rebuild confidence when things don't go as planned. Now,
1:57
Speaker 2: make sure you're following along with Hurdle over at Hurdle Podcast.
2:00
Speaker 2: You can also check out iHeart Woman's Sports. Over at
2:03
Speaker 2: iHeart Woman's Sports and me over at Emily A Body.
2:06
Speaker 2: Listen to a hurdle with Emily Body on iHeartRadio, app,
2:10
Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And a
2:15
Speaker 2: little bit of housekeeping here, make sure you are subscribed
2:18
Speaker 2: to Hurdles YouTube channel. I'm putting the link in the
2:21
Speaker 2: show notes. It is new. I am geeked out on this.
2:25
Speaker 2: I'm currently putting the five minute Friday episodes there and
2:29
Speaker 2: these Tuesday episodes. They are a work in progress. I
2:33
Speaker 2: am gonna get them up there asap, but subscribe to
2:37
Speaker 2: stay on Aloop and thank you for all your love
2:40
Speaker 2: and support there and just always for encouraging me to
2:44
Speaker 2: work hard to do my best, and of course also
2:47
Speaker 2: did Julian for her time. We were able to sneak
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Speaker 2: this in in between all of her big competitions and
2:53
Speaker 2: it was a really special moment for me with that,
2:57
Speaker 2: let's get to it, let's get it's a hurdling today.
3:08
Speaker 2: I am sitting down with Julian Alfred. She is an
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Speaker 2: Olympic champion, she's an indoor world champion, needs no introduction.
3:17
Speaker 2: How are we doing today, Julian, Welcome to hurdle.
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Speaker 3: Thank you for having me. I'm doing good. Thank you.
3:21
Speaker 3: How are you doing? I am?
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Speaker 2: You know what, I don't know if anyone really asks
3:25
Speaker 2: me how I'm doing when I started the podcast. I'm good.
3:29
Speaker 2: It's like a beautiful day here in New York where
3:32
Speaker 2: I am. You are in arguably a much more beautiful
3:35
Speaker 2: place than I am right now.
3:38
Speaker 1: It's really lovely. I love the weather, I love the atmosphere.
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Speaker 1: I'm really looking forward.
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Speaker 2: To racing her, yeah, I mean and coming off of
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Speaker 2: that Rome Diamond League when you have a little bit
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Speaker 2: of momentum. How are things feeling right now in your body?
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Speaker 2: How are you feeling emotionally? Give me a gut check.
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Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm in a really good spot, I would say,
3:59
Speaker 1: because earlier on this year I had a little rough
4:02
Speaker 1: started this season, I was not there, you know, mentally,
4:06
Speaker 1: But I would.
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Speaker 3: Say that now I'm in a way better.
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Speaker 1: Spot mentally, emotionally, physically and just getting things of having
4:13
Speaker 1: my ducks in the room.
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Speaker 3: Now, I just think that everything's aligning the way it's
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Speaker 3: supposed to.
4:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, when you say you were in a rough spot mentally,
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Speaker 2: what was going on?
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Speaker 3: I couldn't figure it out. At the time. I was
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Speaker 3: getting whooped in practice every single day.
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Speaker 1: I felt like I was just in a dark space
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Speaker 1: where I was trying to figure out how I'm going
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Speaker 1: to carry on from last season, the disappointment that I had,
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Speaker 1: and also just trying to figure out if I want
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Speaker 1: to race indoors or not. And I don't feel physically ready,
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Speaker 1: which affected my mental health as well. And I was
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Speaker 1: saying to my coach, well, I'm not sure if I'm
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Speaker 1: ready to race, and it's like, yes, you're ready, And
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Speaker 1: I'm showing in practice that I am, but I just
4:53
Speaker 1: didn't feel like myself early on in the Yeah, but
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Speaker 1: I'm here now, which is good.
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Speaker 2: I'm here now, which is good. And again I'm for
5:00
Speaker 2: that realm when helped get your feed back under you.
5:03
Speaker 2: You know, I can totally relate. I feel like when
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Speaker 2: one thing goes wrong, it's never like one small thing
5:09
Speaker 2: goes wrong. It's like it just feels like everything is
5:12
Speaker 2: weighing down on you.
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Speaker 1: Yes, yes, And I felt that so many different times,
5:16
Speaker 1: and especially early on this season, having that rough start
5:20
Speaker 1: where some practices was just not going right for me,
5:23
Speaker 1: and I was just questioned myself, questioned my abilities. And
5:26
Speaker 1: I think that afterwards in those when I stat down
5:29
Speaker 1: with my coach, everything just clicked and sat working on
5:31
Speaker 1: things that we had to work on, and you know,
5:33
Speaker 1: just you know, just really looking with them within myself
5:36
Speaker 1: and seeing what I had to change, and yeah, I
5:39
Speaker 1: think it turned out for the better.
5:41
Speaker 2: How do you flip the script besides winning, because obviously
5:45
Speaker 2: a win can help you get your confidence back up,
5:47
Speaker 2: but we know that how you talk to yourself all
5:50
Speaker 2: the time is so important. So what tools or tricks
5:53
Speaker 2: do you use to kind of change that inner dialogue
5:56
Speaker 2: when it feels like a total waterfall effect of negativity.
6:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think something I look at in my life
6:02
Speaker 1: is just the patterns. And something that I have realized
6:06
Speaker 1: is that I never stay down for too long, and
6:09
Speaker 1: I have a pattern of I'm just such a resilient person,
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Speaker 1: a strong person that if I'm down for like a
6:14
Speaker 1: short time, I'm I'm going to find my way to
6:16
Speaker 1: come back to the top. And I think that's just
6:18
Speaker 1: been a pattern that's been happening in my life for
6:20
Speaker 1: such a long time. And even though I was going
6:22
Speaker 1: for such a rough patch in the season, I just realized,
6:26
Speaker 1: if I go back within myself and work on things
6:29
Speaker 1: that I have to work on and take accountability, I
6:32
Speaker 1: had to come back to myself and that's what I did.
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Speaker 3: And Yeah, I'm never down for too long. I might
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Speaker 3: be down for a little while, I always pind my
6:40
Speaker 3: way back to the top.
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Speaker 2: I would say that that's a really good mentality to have,
6:43
Speaker 2: and I think it's really impressive that you can look
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Speaker 2: at the facts right. You have the experiences to show
6:49
Speaker 2: you like, hey, it's not going to last forever, but
6:52
Speaker 2: when you're in the thick of it, it's so understandable
6:54
Speaker 2: to feel that way.
6:56
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, it can be so overbearing and overwhelming.
6:59
Speaker 1: Sometimes Peo feel like the world is ending, you know,
7:02
Speaker 1: That's what it feels like at the moment, and you
7:04
Speaker 1: feel like like.
7:05
Speaker 3: What is this that cloud and all the time just
7:07
Speaker 3: is just darkness.
7:08
Speaker 1: But something that my mother always taught me, even when
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Speaker 1: I left San Lucia at a young age, is that
7:12
Speaker 1: there is a light at the end of the tunnel,
7:15
Speaker 1: and I always try to look at that like, no
7:17
Speaker 1: matter what it is, that in the end, I'm going
7:19
Speaker 1: to come out and do good. So I try to
7:22
Speaker 1: not s it down for too long, just knowing that
7:23
Speaker 1: I still a god who's you know, who always keeps
7:26
Speaker 1: me and he's always there with me. I'm very faithful
7:28
Speaker 1: as well, and just trying to not be down for
7:30
Speaker 1: too long and just realize that I have a great
7:32
Speaker 1: support system as well, my coach, my agent Humor, and
7:36
Speaker 1: just my family as well. Our family and friends will
7:38
Speaker 1: support me like all the time. So just realizing that
7:41
Speaker 1: I have people around me and knowing that the kind
7:44
Speaker 1: of person that I am, I won't be down for
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Speaker 1: too long.
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Speaker 2: Yeah. No, I mean it's again, it's such a great
7:48
Speaker 2: mindset to have, and I know you spoke about from
7:51
Speaker 2: being a young age. When you were young, losing your
7:55
Speaker 2: father taught you early on that you had to be resilient.
8:00
Speaker 2: Tell me a little bit about how that impacted your journey,
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Speaker 2: especially when it comes to sport.
8:06
Speaker 3: Yeah.
8:08
Speaker 1: I think it always back to my support system, to
8:10
Speaker 1: be quite honest, when my dad passed, I had my
8:14
Speaker 1: childhood coach was around me who helped me stay up
8:17
Speaker 1: during that time. And then I left to go to
8:20
Speaker 1: Jamaica at a young age, like maybe what two years
8:24
Speaker 1: after my dad passed, and just realizing what I wanted
8:27
Speaker 1: and knowing who I am and just chasing those dreams.
8:30
Speaker 1: So I think that the kind of person that I
8:32
Speaker 1: am is just to go after what I want like
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Speaker 1: no matter what it is, and to not let anything
8:39
Speaker 1: keep me down. It was a dark time in my
8:41
Speaker 1: life and just I think just not being able to
8:44
Speaker 1: say goodbye to my dad at that time, it just
8:46
Speaker 1: really broke me and I still carry that today and
8:49
Speaker 1: that's why I think I was balling so much, crying
8:52
Speaker 1: so much. I was it during the Olympics, during the
8:55
Speaker 1: Olympic story because my dad wasn't around to see that,
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Speaker 1: and I think I just felt all kinds of emotions
9:01
Speaker 1: during that time. But I would say that's the kind
9:04
Speaker 1: of person that I am having to fasit at a
9:06
Speaker 1: young age.
9:08
Speaker 2: You talk about your support system and how great it
9:12
Speaker 2: is that even during that rough time, they knew and
9:16
Speaker 2: saw in you so much potential on that running indeed
9:20
Speaker 2: brought you so much joy. Do you remember the joy
9:24
Speaker 2: at that point?
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Speaker 1: Something I always think about is what would my dad
9:31
Speaker 1: want to see? And right before he passed, he came
9:36
Speaker 1: to practice with me for one last time, and he
9:39
Speaker 1: always he was very both squol even though I wasn't
9:42
Speaker 1: an Olympian yet, he would always boast that I would
9:44
Speaker 1: be an Olympian someday and I'll be winning so many meals.
9:47
Speaker 1: So he wanted to see me thrive and you know,
9:49
Speaker 1: do well in the spot. So I think that's what's
9:53
Speaker 1: keeping me alive in the sport right now. And I
9:56
Speaker 1: think I slept the drive because I know my dad
9:58
Speaker 1: would want to see me out there feeling Even when
10:01
Speaker 1: I feel like giving up, sometimes I think about him
10:03
Speaker 1: and what he would want me to do.
10:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean it's such a valuable thing, a
10:09
Speaker 2: boost for you when you're feeling maybe not like your
10:11
Speaker 2: best self to know that you do have him looking
10:15
Speaker 2: down on you and cheering you on. Let's talk a
10:19
Speaker 2: little bit about the build up to that Paris Olympics.
10:23
Speaker 2: So many things working in your favor leading in that final.
10:28
Speaker 2: Bring me back to that final race for you and
10:32
Speaker 2: how you were able to keep the blinders on and
10:35
Speaker 2: focus on your own lane pun intended.
10:39
Speaker 1: Yeah. Prior to going to the Olympics, we were training
10:44
Speaker 1: Rye Harry Monaco. I had my camp right hair with
10:47
Speaker 1: my coach, my other teammates as well. So something that
10:49
Speaker 1: we will always do is try to focus on just
10:52
Speaker 1: Mylene and try to picture envision people next to me,
10:56
Speaker 1: and still try to focus on my Leane, on what's
10:58
Speaker 1: happening in front of me. So I think that allowed
11:02
Speaker 1: me to you know, envision that and prepare for the final.
11:06
Speaker 1: I think that it was just something that was just
11:08
Speaker 1: written for me, to be quite honest, just my journey
11:11
Speaker 1: in itself winning were indoors. I went to Saint Lucia
11:14
Speaker 1: after that and the Minister of Sports said to me,
11:17
Speaker 1: now we want the Olympic.
11:18
Speaker 3: Gold and that broke pressure. Nonetheless, I went back.
11:23
Speaker 1: I went back to Saint Lucia, I went back to
11:26
Speaker 1: Austin and I didn't realize how much pressure I was
11:29
Speaker 1: put on myself now to deliver that gold medal, to
11:32
Speaker 1: the point where I wanted to give up, to be
11:34
Speaker 1: quite honest, because I just I was just feeling so
11:36
Speaker 1: much pressure when it I got to that line and
11:39
Speaker 1: my coach had me to just take a step back
11:41
Speaker 1: from the spot. I didn't go to a few track meets,
11:45
Speaker 1: I pulled out of some and I took maybe about a.
11:48
Speaker 3: Month off to just really focus on Julian.
11:51
Speaker 1: So it took some time to get to that line
11:53
Speaker 1: at the at the Olympics where I just felt like, well,
11:57
Speaker 1: I've gone through all of that throughout the season, and
11:59
Speaker 1: I felt in more have gone through the hotships and
12:02
Speaker 1: that was.
12:02
Speaker 3: Just my time to go out there and just leave
12:04
Speaker 3: it all on the track.
12:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is a lot of pressure. And it's so interesting,
12:11
Speaker 2: right because it's almost as though before you win, or
12:15
Speaker 2: before you get to a point where you're at the
12:17
Speaker 2: top of the top, it's almost easier to show up
12:20
Speaker 2: because you're not as scared of letting people down. But
12:23
Speaker 2: when you get to this point where you're like everyone
12:26
Speaker 2: is watching, how do you keep that at bay? How
12:28
Speaker 2: do you focus?
12:30
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's hard it's really hard, and especially representing that
12:34
Speaker 1: tiny island like Saint Lucia.
12:38
Speaker 2: Where I've been by the way, it's donning. Oh really,
12:42
Speaker 2: uh huh, well I've been to the Body Holiday. Really
12:47
Speaker 2: it's sore.
12:49
Speaker 3: I love Body Holiday. My favorite hotel is so far,
12:54
Speaker 3: I would say. But yeah, it's a lot of pressure.
12:56
Speaker 3: I would say.
12:57
Speaker 1: It's a lot of pressure knowing that entire country is
13:00
Speaker 1: looking at you expecting you to win. And after a
13:04
Speaker 1: word indoors, I felt like, now I have to go
13:07
Speaker 1: do it again. I have to go to the Olympics
13:10
Speaker 1: and try to deliver for my country again. And my
13:14
Speaker 1: coach said to me, with let's not get ahead of ourselves,
13:17
Speaker 1: because we have to focus on just Julian first, and
13:20
Speaker 1: before we get to Saint Lucia, what about the young
13:23
Speaker 1: girl who wanted it for herself, who has been dreaming
13:25
Speaker 1: for such a long time to go to the Olympics
13:27
Speaker 1: and do well. Start to come back to myself and realize, well,
13:32
Speaker 1: this is for me first, and it's certain pressure knowing
13:37
Speaker 1: that now I have the Solution logo on my uniform
13:41
Speaker 1: and I'm representing Sen Lucia, I'm representing myself and representing
13:45
Speaker 1: Puma so I do think that it's it can be
13:48
Speaker 1: a pressure, but I think I'm learning now how to
13:50
Speaker 1: handle it.
13:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, on the note of handling it as someone who
13:55
Speaker 2: is a little bit more of a private person, how
13:58
Speaker 2: do you protect your inner piece and handle the let's say,
14:03
Speaker 2: like emotional fatigue that comes with having to be this
14:06
Speaker 2: person that's representing so many people.
14:09
Speaker 1: I like bricks, I take long breaks. I think that's
14:13
Speaker 1: been helping me for a long time. I don't like
14:16
Speaker 1: the media. I don't like being out, and I think
14:19
Speaker 1: people have so many opinions to give, and I think
14:22
Speaker 1: that in yourself can be it can be destructive, to.
14:26
Speaker 3: Be quite honest.
14:27
Speaker 1: So as a private person, that's the body who loves
14:30
Speaker 1: to protect her peace. When I still for social media
14:34
Speaker 1: because people have so many things to say and too,
14:37
Speaker 1: I just focus on just Julian and just my inner
14:40
Speaker 1: circle and knowing who's for me and who cares about me.
14:43
Speaker 3: Jenne, we don't know what I do on the track only.
14:46
Speaker 1: So that's why I love going back home now because
14:49
Speaker 1: I'm around my family who sees me more than just
14:53
Speaker 1: the national athlet, more than just Julian the Olympian modern
14:56
Speaker 1: just Julian the Olympic champion. They see me as a
15:00
Speaker 1: sister and a niece and a friend. So I think
15:04
Speaker 1: that I tried to protect my inn a piece by
15:06
Speaker 1: just penner and people who genuinely care about children as
15:10
Speaker 1: a person fust as opposed to like what I do.
15:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's such a good piece of advice, whether you
15:17
Speaker 2: know we're talking about running or just talking about anyone
15:21
Speaker 2: walking down the street, right, surrounding yourself with people that
15:24
Speaker 2: lift you up and make you feel like the best
15:27
Speaker 2: version of yourself. And I also think it's so important
15:31
Speaker 2: to highlight and touch on how important it is that
15:34
Speaker 2: you speak to yourself right, because you want to speak
15:37
Speaker 2: to yourself like you would speak to someone who is
15:39
Speaker 2: in your corner, who is supporting you. So if you're
15:43
Speaker 2: the person that's there speaking poorly to yourself, it won't
15:47
Speaker 2: really matter what everybody around you is saying. You have
15:49
Speaker 2: to believe it.
15:50
Speaker 3: Too, exactly.
15:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I really try to walk on in a
15:53
Speaker 1: piece by talking to myself. And I think I'm a
15:56
Speaker 1: lot kinder to myself now as compared to before.
15:59
Speaker 3: I was so hard on myself.
16:00
Speaker 1: I was really hard on myself, where if I don't
16:04
Speaker 1: do something that I was expected to do, I would
16:06
Speaker 1: just be very mean to myself. And I'm learning now
16:09
Speaker 1: it's okay. It's okay to give yourself grace, It's okay
16:12
Speaker 1: to mess up sometimes that's part of being human. And
16:16
Speaker 1: I think that now just doing that is that allowed
16:18
Speaker 1: me to let my shoulders down and just be mosied,
16:21
Speaker 1: like you know, and I think that's been the best.
16:23
Speaker 3: Thing for me.
16:24
Speaker 2: Just like you're training your physical fitness, you've also got
16:29
Speaker 2: to train your mental fitness. There are going to have
16:32
Speaker 2: a new challenges that come all of the time, and
16:35
Speaker 2: it's up to you to ask yourself, what's the best
16:38
Speaker 2: way that I can handle that.
16:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, And something that I've been working on is just
16:44
Speaker 1: working with my mentor coach, and I think I have
16:48
Speaker 1: a new one, So I think he's been like a
16:50
Speaker 1: huge help in just how I how I am now,
16:54
Speaker 1: and I just think that it's been the best thing
16:56
Speaker 1: that I've done working with working with somebody like that.
17:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, give us a contexts like what that looks like,
17:05
Speaker 2: because someone here is like I work with my like
17:08
Speaker 2: my sports psychologist or my mental coach, and they're like, Okay,
17:11
Speaker 2: that sounds cool, but what does it look like in practice?
17:14
Speaker 3: Yeah?
17:14
Speaker 1: I mean, it can include lots of crime, I would
17:17
Speaker 1: say that, but it can also speak to just realize
17:21
Speaker 1: the patterns that you have and things that can be
17:24
Speaker 1: like the hooders that you have in your way to
17:26
Speaker 1: that's preventing you from being great. And I think that
17:29
Speaker 1: some of mine is just thinking of the outcome of
17:32
Speaker 1: racis before it even happens, and my fear of losing.
17:36
Speaker 1: So I think that now I am just very chat
17:40
Speaker 1: like now I train hard to win, and whatever has
17:44
Speaker 1: my way, it's okay. Like I just know that I
17:47
Speaker 1: worked hard, and it's not that I'm expecting it to come.
17:51
Speaker 1: I know, I work so hard to get to the
17:52
Speaker 1: of the podium, but if it comes, then it's okay
17:55
Speaker 1: to give myself some grace and not be so hard
17:58
Speaker 1: on myself. So it's includes some work of accepting some
18:03
Speaker 1: things about yourself, but also working on seeing things from
18:06
Speaker 1: a different point of view as well.
18:09
Speaker 2: You said something that's so important, which is I know
18:12
Speaker 2: that I am giving it everything I have, And so
18:16
Speaker 2: when you can focus on giving it everything that you have,
18:20
Speaker 2: you can have a little bit less of an attachment
18:23
Speaker 2: to what that outcome is.
18:25
Speaker 1: Yes, most definitely, but I think that just a bad
18:28
Speaker 1: habit that I have to be quite honest, and I
18:32
Speaker 1: had the mentality that, well, I'm working so hard, so
18:36
Speaker 1: I'm supposed to get everything that my heart desires. But
18:41
Speaker 1: that's not how the world works, to be quite honest,
18:43
Speaker 1: and I think that now I'm learning that and giving
18:45
Speaker 1: myself a lot more grace that it's okay to mess up,
18:48
Speaker 1: it's okay to not have a perfect day, it's okay
18:51
Speaker 1: to not be the best ruling on that day, and
18:54
Speaker 1: giving myself a little more grace because I'm human.
18:57
Speaker 3: You know. In the end, I know.
19:15
Speaker 2: That a big part of your support system you've mentioned
19:19
Speaker 2: coach flow, there are going to be moments when, even
19:23
Speaker 2: though you put absolutely everything into our performance, you don't
19:27
Speaker 2: get the outcome that you're after. So how do the
19:31
Speaker 2: two of you then handle tough conversations when a workout
19:35
Speaker 2: or a race isn't hitting right.
19:39
Speaker 1: I think we have different ways of handling that, to
19:41
Speaker 1: be quite honest.
19:43
Speaker 3: Afterward, in th Ouz and I went to his office.
19:45
Speaker 1: I cried, but here's somebody He's allowing me to learn now,
19:51
Speaker 1: to just teach with myself and to figure it out.
19:55
Speaker 1: In the past, he would always run to the rescue
19:57
Speaker 1: and try to hold my hands. But I think it's
19:59
Speaker 1: a allow me to just deal with my emotions and
20:04
Speaker 1: figure it out. But he's still there nonetheless, and I
20:07
Speaker 1: would say that he's just been a huge part of
20:10
Speaker 1: my success and just not just him being my coach,
20:14
Speaker 1: but also being a mentor to me as well. So
20:17
Speaker 1: I was saying, most conversations have been very smooth because
20:22
Speaker 1: he's somebody that I really trust with my whole life,
20:25
Speaker 1: and I'll just go based off of what he says
20:29
Speaker 1: to be quite if you like, if sorry, if it
20:31
Speaker 1: feels like I'm in the right place to go do something.
20:34
Speaker 1: I trust that because he's my coach. He's been with
20:36
Speaker 1: me since I was seventeen. I've been at Texas since then,
20:39
Speaker 1: so he knows me inside and out and I trust
20:43
Speaker 1: what he says. So I think that conversations are very easy,
20:48
Speaker 1: you know, when we have them.
20:50
Speaker 2: And he's someone that has so much pride in you,
20:54
Speaker 2: just like you have spoken about the people of Saint
20:58
Speaker 2: Lucia having so much pride in you. How would you
21:02
Speaker 2: say that your relationship with home has evolved since that
21:07
Speaker 2: Olympic one.
21:09
Speaker 1: That's funny because I'm just thinking of just how I
21:13
Speaker 1: was when I first left Sei Lucia to now. When
21:16
Speaker 1: I first left, you know, you're young, You're excited to
21:20
Speaker 1: leave the country, You're happy. I didn't want to go
21:23
Speaker 1: back home when I first got to Texas. I was like,
21:26
Speaker 1: I'm going to make the sacrifice and I'm going to
21:28
Speaker 1: stay here and train and skip Christmas break.
21:31
Speaker 3: Now I go home almost every single month. I have to.
21:36
Speaker 3: I love being in Sein Lucia.
21:37
Speaker 1: I mean, just look at the landscape, our beaches, our
21:43
Speaker 1: landmarks like our Surfa springs, the waterfalls, the people. Just
21:47
Speaker 1: looking at things in that aspect, I mean, I just
21:50
Speaker 1: can't resist. And it's almost like I'm going on vacation
21:52
Speaker 1: and not just home just because I feel like I'm
21:55
Speaker 1: just how beautiful the country is, but that in itself,
21:59
Speaker 1: I just I to go as much as possible with
22:01
Speaker 1: my family is also there, So I just tried to
22:04
Speaker 1: go home as often as I can.
22:06
Speaker 2: As often as I can. It's not a bad place
22:08
Speaker 2: to have to go back to.
22:11
Speaker 3: Not at all.
22:12
Speaker 2: Now, along with all of this excitement and these wins
22:17
Speaker 2: have certainly come a lot of eyes. You've also been
22:21
Speaker 2: a puma athlete for some time now. Talk to me
22:24
Speaker 2: about when that puma deal became official and what it
22:27
Speaker 2: meant to you.
22:29
Speaker 3: Yeah. So, but this story is that.
22:35
Speaker 1: One of the representatives, which is my agent, Henry, he
22:38
Speaker 1: came to see me maybe like four or five times.
22:41
Speaker 3: So I think.
22:42
Speaker 1: That the writing was already on the wall, just Puma
22:45
Speaker 1: showing the interested me and just seeing a future, you know,
22:49
Speaker 1: in me as well. I was very excited to sign
22:52
Speaker 1: a Puma. I was also in Austin during that time
22:55
Speaker 1: and not many persons knew. But when I before I
22:58
Speaker 1: ran my first race, my first pessional race in Budapest,
23:01
Speaker 1: I already signed to Puma during that time. So the
23:05
Speaker 1: writing was on the wall during that time, and I
23:07
Speaker 1: think that I made a great decision being part of
23:11
Speaker 1: the Puma family.
23:14
Speaker 2: What did it mean to you and what did it
23:17
Speaker 2: mean for your family?
23:20
Speaker 3: It meant a lot, not just.
23:20
Speaker 1: To me and my family, but also my country as well.
23:26
Speaker 1: We didn't have a sponsor, and I think that's something
23:29
Speaker 1: that I sat down with Puma was that were you.
23:34
Speaker 1: I asked the question, are you able to sponsor my country?
23:38
Speaker 1: And they agreed to which I was very happy about.
23:41
Speaker 1: To my family, it meant a lot just seeing all
23:45
Speaker 1: my heart will come to fruition and you know, it's
23:48
Speaker 1: just something that I've been really working very hard towards
23:51
Speaker 1: and just seeing it come come to light, you know,
23:54
Speaker 1: after so many years of just making those sacrifices and
23:58
Speaker 1: facing those hardships are just and just seeing that all
24:01
Speaker 1: my heart is finally paying off signing a Puma deal,
24:04
Speaker 1: it just meant a lot.
24:05
Speaker 3: Sjuly your blessing.
24:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had read up a little bit and read
24:10
Speaker 2: that Saint Lucia had also set aside some money to
24:14
Speaker 2: help your personal development as an athlete. Would you say
24:19
Speaker 2: that that also was a bit challenging, having that investment,
24:25
Speaker 2: that expectation writing on you.
24:29
Speaker 1: I didn't see it as that at a young age,
24:31
Speaker 1: to be quite honest, at a young age, I really
24:33
Speaker 1: saw it.
24:34
Speaker 3: As my mom and I was just.
24:39
Speaker 1: Really getting the help that we really needed to get
24:42
Speaker 1: to where I was going. And you know, I'm truly
24:45
Speaker 1: grateful for just the help that you know, was put
24:47
Speaker 1: into me and just seeing that I can go out
24:50
Speaker 1: there and you know, just show that it wasn't for nothing,
24:54
Speaker 1: like I actually made made it possible, you know, the
24:58
Speaker 1: heap that they falled into me. So I would say
25:00
Speaker 1: that I'm very grateful for the opportunity yeah.
25:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, and then to be able to give back with
25:05
Speaker 2: this Puma relationship is just truly so special. Would you
25:10
Speaker 2: say that now stepping on the track feels a little
25:14
Speaker 2: bit different having had such a successful last few years.
25:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would say it feels very different, Especially right
25:23
Speaker 1: after the Olympics.
25:25
Speaker 3: I felt overwhelmed. During that time.
25:29
Speaker 1: I felt like, well, now I have to go out
25:31
Speaker 1: there and win because I want the Olympics and I
25:35
Speaker 1: want were indoors, So now.
25:38
Speaker 3: I'm expected to go out there and win every single race.
25:40
Speaker 1: And I was so hard at myself and I didn't
25:44
Speaker 1: realize how hard I was myself uns in my coast
25:46
Speaker 1: and me, let's take a break, Let's slow down and
25:48
Speaker 1: realize before all of this, who you will? You know
25:52
Speaker 1: at the beginning, but it was had been on the track,
25:54
Speaker 1: and now you're in the spotlight, and that was very
25:58
Speaker 1: different for me. I'm just so doing what I have
26:00
Speaker 1: to do and going back home. But now you're in
26:02
Speaker 1: the spotlight. People are talking about you expecting to do
26:05
Speaker 1: certain things and I just wasn't used to that. And
26:08
Speaker 1: something that someone said to me one time is you
26:13
Speaker 1: have to realize also your first time been an Olympic champion,
26:15
Speaker 1: so you're trying to figure out what's working, what doesn't work,
26:19
Speaker 1: and give yourself some grace because your first time been
26:22
Speaker 1: at the Olympic champion and I had to just really
26:24
Speaker 1: set it myself and just accept that. It took a
26:28
Speaker 1: long time for me to accept that I was the
26:30
Speaker 1: Olympic Champion. And I think that now I'm slowly but
26:33
Speaker 1: surely beginning to realize what I've done and make it
26:38
Speaker 1: a part of me as well.
26:40
Speaker 2: You've done it, and understandably, stepping into something that is
26:46
Speaker 2: that big of a moment, that big of a deal,
26:49
Speaker 2: comes with a bit of growing pains right now as
26:54
Speaker 2: you are in this public place. Even saying before I
26:59
Speaker 2: don't love doing media. What's been the most challenging thing
27:04
Speaker 2: that's come with the learning of who Julian Alfred is
27:10
Speaker 2: to the world.
27:12
Speaker 1: Part of my job, Like I think that part of
27:17
Speaker 1: doing what I love it comes with it. And something
27:20
Speaker 1: that my coach has said to me, well, if you
27:23
Speaker 1: don't like it, then run slow. And I don't want
27:26
Speaker 1: to rust so I don't want to runto so I
27:28
Speaker 1: have to accept it, you know, And I think that's
27:31
Speaker 1: the biggest thing for me now, accepting what I have
27:34
Speaker 1: done and even though it's it's been a challenge for
27:39
Speaker 1: me doing media and seeing myself on social media and
27:43
Speaker 1: seeing what people saying about me.
27:45
Speaker 3: It's been.
27:49
Speaker 1: I've been slowly but surely accepting it, like that's just
27:51
Speaker 1: part of my job, and it's just I cannot I
27:54
Speaker 1: cannot escape it unless I just just stop running fast.
27:58
Speaker 3: And I don't want to stop running fast. So I'm
28:00
Speaker 3: about that's part of the plan. So it's okay.
28:04
Speaker 2: Now, it's a little bit of both, right, Like it's like,
28:07
Speaker 2: you want, you can't get what you want without this
28:11
Speaker 2: other thing, and candidly is something that I think a
28:14
Speaker 2: lot about, even you know, within what I do in media.
28:18
Speaker 2: I know that, you know, making more videos, making more content,
28:23
Speaker 2: all of that is important to grow the platform. But
28:26
Speaker 2: there are moments where I'm like, but I I would
28:29
Speaker 2: just like to not do that today. Yeah, I would
28:34
Speaker 2: like to be off camera for a moment and all
28:37
Speaker 2: of these things, but that's not how you tell stories.
28:40
Speaker 2: And these stories I know in my gut, just like
28:43
Speaker 2: you know in your gut that you love running fast.
28:45
Speaker 2: I love having the opportunity to inspire people to live
28:49
Speaker 2: healthier and happier, more motivated lives and so this is
28:52
Speaker 2: something that I get to do and that's a perspective shift.
28:56
Speaker 3: Yes, exactly.
28:56
Speaker 1: And it's a blessing to be quite honest, to be
28:58
Speaker 1: able to do that and to you know, share your
29:01
Speaker 1: story and also inspire others like you've been saying and
29:05
Speaker 1: just saying that maybe just something I see may help
29:08
Speaker 1: somebody else who's been struggling the exact same thing and
29:11
Speaker 1: realizing that you can come out of it in the
29:14
Speaker 1: end and still be great. So I think that there
29:16
Speaker 1: are benefits to be on media. So I try to
29:20
Speaker 1: see it for what it is. And also he is
29:22
Speaker 1: at the exact same time, But there are benefits, There
29:25
Speaker 1: are benefits to it.
29:27
Speaker 3: But yeah, I must learn how to accept it.
29:30
Speaker 2: Yeah. I appreciate what coach told you, like, well, you
29:33
Speaker 2: could just run slow, and you're like, absolutely not, that
29:36
Speaker 2: is that's not an option. I also really appreciated what
29:40
Speaker 2: you said before about knowing when to take a step back.
29:44
Speaker 2: You decide made the decision to sit out from the
29:47
Speaker 2: Commonwealth and the c C Games to prioritize your health.
29:51
Speaker 2: Are you happy with that decision now looking back on it?
29:54
Speaker 3: I am, I really am.
29:56
Speaker 1: I think that's something that I coach and eye with
30:00
Speaker 1: realized is that after we come from Europe, like running
30:04
Speaker 1: three four races, I try to take a weekend to
30:08
Speaker 1: go to San Luiho during that time to just really decompress,
30:12
Speaker 1: get away from track for a little bit, and then
30:14
Speaker 1: we gramp up trading again. So four or five weeks
30:17
Speaker 1: of a different cycle. I like the chance that I
30:20
Speaker 1: get to just take a break from, you know, a
30:23
Speaker 1: high level competition and also just my mental health as well,
30:28
Speaker 1: decompressing and then raverythings back up again and I give
30:31
Speaker 1: my body a little rest as well. So I think
30:33
Speaker 1: my body also responds to that, you know very well.
30:36
Speaker 3: And if I was to.
30:38
Speaker 1: Compete a common well, then now I'll just break the
30:40
Speaker 1: cycle that I've been in on the route and I've
30:42
Speaker 1: been in which taking four or five weeks off. So
30:46
Speaker 1: I think this is the best decision for me at
30:48
Speaker 1: the time, and I'm happy with it.
30:51
Speaker 2: I appreciate this emphasis on the need for recovery, not
30:55
Speaker 2: just physically but also mentally. It's a really good message
31:00
Speaker 2: to be sharing, especially with young athletes. Speaking of sharing
31:06
Speaker 2: things with young athletes and also being a mentor, how
31:10
Speaker 2: does that role feel for you, because again, maybe not
31:14
Speaker 2: one that you would have necessarily chosen, but without a doubt,
31:18
Speaker 2: you certainly are someone that so many young people look
31:22
Speaker 2: up to right now.
31:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a role that I take very seriously because
31:27
Speaker 1: I just know what it's like to be in that
31:29
Speaker 1: position at one point in time. We're also looking up
31:32
Speaker 1: to different people like using Vote and hearing him speak,
31:35
Speaker 1: and also people from my country like Daran Samy Live
31:38
Speaker 1: and Spencer and look it up to them and wanting
31:41
Speaker 1: to be the exact same person for the younger generation.
31:44
Speaker 1: And something that I also look at two is what
31:51
Speaker 1: am I showing them when I get on the track
31:53
Speaker 1: and if I sta away from the spot, am I
31:55
Speaker 1: showing that it's easy to give up on your dreams?
31:58
Speaker 1: And I try to look at from that interview, even
32:00
Speaker 1: the way I perform on the track, I try to
32:03
Speaker 1: always represent with grace and.
32:05
Speaker 3: Not be.
32:09
Speaker 1: Not be wild, I would say, it'll be wild, but
32:11
Speaker 1: also like be very graceful on the track to leave
32:14
Speaker 1: by example and to show you know what it's like
32:17
Speaker 1: to be a national athlete and to also have decency
32:22
Speaker 1: and knowing who you are and knowing what you represent
32:24
Speaker 1: as well and staying true to yourself. So I would
32:27
Speaker 1: say I take that before pride and and honor, you know,
32:31
Speaker 1: to just be an inspiration to the younger generation.
32:34
Speaker 2: So yeah, when you think of your younger self, what
32:38
Speaker 2: is some advice that maybe you wish that you had
32:41
Speaker 2: at the beginning going in to taking track more seriously.
32:47
Speaker 1: Yeah, something I would say is the advice that I
32:51
Speaker 1: would have I wish I had at the time, is
32:53
Speaker 1: to to not to not stop having fun.
32:58
Speaker 3: I think that when.
33:02
Speaker 1: As I got better and better in the spot, I
33:05
Speaker 1: think that I stopped having fun and I'm learning how
33:09
Speaker 1: to have fun now in the spot. But advice I
33:12
Speaker 1: would say is to just not stop having fun and
33:14
Speaker 1: just not forget the reason why you started in the
33:16
Speaker 1: first place.
33:18
Speaker 3: I started track because I loved it.
33:19
Speaker 1: I started truck because I realized it was a way
33:22
Speaker 1: out of where I started in Sant Lucia, and also
33:27
Speaker 1: realizing that I had a talent and it was my
33:29
Speaker 1: way to just be the best athlete possible. And sometimes
33:34
Speaker 1: when you're chasing, when you're chasing to be the greatest,
33:37
Speaker 1: it's it.
33:38
Speaker 3: Can be lonely as well.
33:41
Speaker 1: But just realizing that in the end you can stop
33:46
Speaker 1: having fun because you start losing yourself during that process.
33:49
Speaker 3: So I would say that to myself, not to not
33:51
Speaker 3: have to not stop having fun.
33:53
Speaker 2: You are notoriously very straight faced and almost a little
33:58
Speaker 2: and when you stop on the track, talk to me
34:00
Speaker 2: about that, talk to you about that? Is that like
34:06
Speaker 2: I need to get like my alter ego on like
34:08
Speaker 2: what's happening there?
34:10
Speaker 1: It is an alter ego, I would say, I mean
34:12
Speaker 1: me of the track, I'm I think I know me personally.
34:17
Speaker 3: I am not all serious.
34:19
Speaker 1: I would say that I am bubbly sometimes, but I'm
34:23
Speaker 1: mostly just calm. I love being at peace. I just
34:26
Speaker 1: don't like the mess. I don't like being like crowdy.
34:29
Speaker 1: I just love being Jullian, which is at peace. I
34:33
Speaker 1: love being chill. But on the track, I'm a different person.
34:37
Speaker 1: It's all business like. It's strictly just business, and I
34:43
Speaker 1: just don't have friends. I don't have time to play around.
34:46
Speaker 1: It's just I'm here for something and I knew what
34:49
Speaker 1: it took to get to this place. And when I
34:52
Speaker 1: cross the line, I may smile sometimes, but up until then,
34:57
Speaker 1: there's nothing to just matter about until I cross that
34:59
Speaker 1: line first.
35:00
Speaker 2: So yeah, wow, there's nothing to smile about, this matter about.
35:08
Speaker 3: I try sometimes, but then it's just not me.
35:11
Speaker 1: It's like I feel like I'm a little to relax
35:13
Speaker 1: when I do give a smile, But most of the
35:17
Speaker 1: time I'm very I have a straight face on because
35:20
Speaker 1: I'm just thinking of all or nothing. You know, now
35:24
Speaker 1: it's the time and all and nothing and just try
35:26
Speaker 1: to go after what you've been working on for such
35:29
Speaker 1: a long time. So I have all the stuffs going
35:31
Speaker 1: through my mind at the time that I'm just I
35:34
Speaker 1: just don't have time to really smile.
35:36
Speaker 2: Bring me into that inner dialogue, like are you thinking
35:40
Speaker 2: about your start? Are you thinking about your drive face?
35:43
Speaker 2: Are you thinking about the race itself? Are you visualizing
35:45
Speaker 2: like what is usually going through your mind before you
35:50
Speaker 2: total line to get through those ten or twenty one seconds.
35:55
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that different races bring out different thoughts.
36:00
Speaker 3: The hundred is definitely the start.
36:02
Speaker 1: I think about the starts and my execution and just
36:04
Speaker 1: the different phases within the race. For the two hundred,
36:09
Speaker 1: I'm just all over the pasive thoughts to because I
36:13
Speaker 1: run the two hundred so differently different times. I make
36:16
Speaker 1: it out hard, I may get out slowly. It depends
36:19
Speaker 1: on just what my body, my man wants to do
36:21
Speaker 1: that day, to be quite honest, but in the end,
36:24
Speaker 1: it's just trying to win and trying to work on
36:27
Speaker 1: different phases that we've worked on in practice as well.
36:31
Speaker 1: So I try to not overthink the two hundred that much.
36:33
Speaker 1: I do overthink the hundreds sometimes, but most of the
36:37
Speaker 1: time it's just to just get out.
36:39
Speaker 2: I want to Yeah, I want to talk a little
36:43
Speaker 2: bit about the relationship that you have with your competition,
36:46
Speaker 2: because I've heard you say that again. You're showing up
36:49
Speaker 2: your straight face. You're there to put in the work. However,
36:53
Speaker 2: you also do appreciate the rising greatness of the field
36:57
Speaker 2: around you because a rising tide and that rising pressure
37:01
Speaker 2: raises all boats. Talk to me a little bit about
37:04
Speaker 2: what it's like to compete with such a stacked woman's
37:07
Speaker 2: field these days.
37:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's amazing just to see.
37:11
Speaker 1: How the sport is growing and how just the event
37:14
Speaker 1: one hundred and two hundred is growing, like it's not
37:17
Speaker 1: just one or two persons dominating that event, like you
37:20
Speaker 1: just never know what's going to happen on that day.
37:23
Speaker 1: But something that I love is that for myself, it
37:27
Speaker 1: gives me accountable, not because I have won the Olympics
37:31
Speaker 1: of medals in World Championship means that I have to
37:35
Speaker 1: slack off or I've made it rather but it gives
37:39
Speaker 1: me on my toes that I don't have to I
37:41
Speaker 1: don't have time to slack off because there's somebody who's coming.
37:44
Speaker 1: There's somebody's on the rise, who is going to be dominating,
37:46
Speaker 1: and it's going to be coming for your spot. That
37:49
Speaker 1: you have no time to relax your shoulders, let your
37:52
Speaker 1: head on because you want it and they want it
37:55
Speaker 1: as well. So it's just going to be a battle.
37:58
Speaker 1: And I love being in the battle some times, to
38:00
Speaker 1: be quite honest. So I love that rivalry that's coming
38:03
Speaker 1: up and the competition. I think it allows me to
38:06
Speaker 1: just tell my toes and to just not be tor relaxed.
38:09
Speaker 2: So yeah, you do, however, have some friends within the sport.
38:16
Speaker 2: I know that you trained with Rashida, right, Yes, Like
38:22
Speaker 2: she's okay, she.
38:23
Speaker 3: Says, since my friend, he is my friend.
38:27
Speaker 1: I thought you were talking about like different rivalries like
38:30
Speaker 1: with in my event.
38:31
Speaker 3: But Rashid and I retrained together. We've been friends.
38:33
Speaker 1: We've been in the same really teams as well, and
38:36
Speaker 1: she's a love with business, somebody I look up.
38:38
Speaker 3: To as well. Yeah.
38:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, I had the opportunity to sit down with her
38:41
Speaker 2: for we did a live show in Austin a few
38:44
Speaker 2: years back, and her perspective, it's just as as beautiful
38:50
Speaker 2: as yours in so many ways, and that you know,
38:53
Speaker 2: it is these challenging moments that that teach us exactly
38:56
Speaker 2: who it is that we are.
38:58
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, And I mean you never stop bleaving about
39:01
Speaker 1: yourself every day or every single time you feel something new,
39:05
Speaker 1: it's just like I didn't know I could have overcome this,
39:08
Speaker 1: or I learned something about myself. And something that I
39:11
Speaker 1: was saying to somebody recently is that sometimes when I
39:16
Speaker 1: face those situations, when you're out of it, you figure out,
39:20
Speaker 1: like why was I even wy was I even getting
39:23
Speaker 1: mad over? Why was I even crying over this? Because
39:26
Speaker 1: when you're on the other side, it doesn't seem that big.
39:29
Speaker 1: But once you're in that storm, if like everything is
39:32
Speaker 1: trembling or like there's no way.
39:34
Speaker 3: Out of the storm, But.
39:35
Speaker 1: When you're on the other side, it's like, why was
39:37
Speaker 1: I even mad about that? Like I could have just
39:40
Speaker 1: done this or do that, but it's so hard to
39:42
Speaker 1: see things.
40:00
Speaker 2: Reflecting on the storm, What would you say the most
40:03
Speaker 2: challenging part has been about the last few years for you.
40:09
Speaker 1: The most challenging fact leaving my country at fourteen, leaving
40:13
Speaker 1: my home at fourteen to go to Jamaica.
40:16
Speaker 3: That was the most challenging thing that I.
40:19
Speaker 1: Have ever done in my life, like no family members.
40:24
Speaker 1: I saw my mom when she dropped me off in
40:27
Speaker 1: Jamaica and when I went home for summer. During that time,
40:31
Speaker 1: I did not see my family at all, which is
40:34
Speaker 1: very challenging. Like I left my friends, my family behind,
40:37
Speaker 1: and everything that I've known. And I was the last
40:40
Speaker 1: child at the time, so I was a baby of
40:42
Speaker 1: the family. I did not to do most things on
40:44
Speaker 1: my own, to be quite honest, and I lived with
40:47
Speaker 1: different families in Jamaica as well, and it was just
40:50
Speaker 1: such a difficult time, you know, navigating who student is
40:57
Speaker 1: and now have my mother around. My father passed like
41:01
Speaker 1: a few years prior. I made the easy decision to
41:03
Speaker 1: go to Jamaica on my own. That was hard.
41:07
Speaker 3: That was very, very hard, and I would say that
41:11
Speaker 3: it helped me to.
41:14
Speaker 1: It prepared me to go to college and even for
41:17
Speaker 1: life after college. It definitely prepared me to be the
41:20
Speaker 1: person that I am today, because I don't know who
41:23
Speaker 1: I would have been you know, if I didn't take
41:25
Speaker 1: that huge sleep of faith and leave the country, you know,
41:28
Speaker 1: I wouldn't have been resilient.
41:30
Speaker 3: Who knows.
41:30
Speaker 2: So Yeah, being fourteen as a young woman and trying
41:34
Speaker 2: to figure out anything is hard enough. Nevertheless, having to
41:38
Speaker 2: do it away from your family, chasing such big goals,
41:42
Speaker 2: such big dreams. Jamaica being a massive climate for track
41:48
Speaker 2: and field. I've been at the National Stadium, I've been
41:51
Speaker 2: at the warm up track at six am on a Tuesday.
41:55
Speaker 2: It is unlike anything I've ever seen. Talk to me
41:59
Speaker 2: about what experiencing that culture was like for you.
42:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think, like I said, that, it prepared me
42:07
Speaker 1: for where I'm at today. The first thing is just
42:10
Speaker 1: righting in front of a large crowd like the Jamaica
42:13
Speaker 1: Boys and Girls Champs is like no other to be
42:17
Speaker 1: quite honest, Like, yeah, Friday Saturday, when you're in that
42:21
Speaker 1: stadium with just haunts and all you can here is
42:25
Speaker 1: just the haunts and people screaming and shouting representing their
42:28
Speaker 1: school is an amazing atmosphere, I would say, And I
42:32
Speaker 1: think that in itself prepared me to go out there
42:34
Speaker 1: and face you know, large crowds at the Olympics at Wills,
42:38
Speaker 1: even when I was younger like you for Olympics, it
42:41
Speaker 1: just prepared me for moments like that. But just seeing
42:44
Speaker 1: how much the culture, the track culture there like compared
42:49
Speaker 1: to like other countries and even just my country, it's
42:52
Speaker 1: like no other like the way they just take the
42:55
Speaker 1: spots so seriously is something that's just really impressive to me.
43:00
Speaker 2: What was it like for you to finally leave Jamaica.
43:06
Speaker 1: It was different because after I graduated in June, I
43:11
Speaker 1: didn't know what I was going to do after that.
43:13
Speaker 1: I only had one offer at the time, which was Utsa,
43:18
Speaker 1: and I was really waiting to like compete it at
43:22
Speaker 1: you for Olympics, which happened around October, and my only
43:28
Speaker 1: option was to go to Utsa, and I wanted to
43:34
Speaker 1: wait till I was done. If you for Olympics, we
43:35
Speaker 1: even make that decision to go there, and even though
43:38
Speaker 1: I took the visit, I wasn't sure of myself. I
43:41
Speaker 1: already left my country at a young age and I
43:44
Speaker 1: was seventeen trying to see what I wanted to do next.
43:47
Speaker 1: I went home for six months trained for your for Olympics,
43:51
Speaker 1: and after your Olympics, I got an offer, well, my
43:54
Speaker 1: offers and that's when Quod.
43:55
Speaker 3: Flow approached me, and it's like, yeah, I'm going to text,
43:58
Speaker 3: I'm going to Texas. I had no other choice.
44:01
Speaker 1: It was only my second visits, and I was like,
44:03
Speaker 1: I'm going right there with somebody who knows what they're doing,
44:07
Speaker 1: who has so many accomplished athletes.
44:10
Speaker 3: So I wanted to be right with him.
44:11
Speaker 1: And I also wasn't in prior to live in Jamaica,
44:16
Speaker 1: seeing Sydney and seeing Kenny Harrison and seeing so many
44:19
Speaker 1: other artists that he have also helped get to that point,
44:22
Speaker 1: you know, in their career where they were hired tis.
44:25
Speaker 1: I wanted to be a part of that as well.
44:27
Speaker 1: But after Jamaica, prior to winning, between graduating and also
44:33
Speaker 1: your Olympics, I have no idea what I wanted to do.
44:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so looking back at that now, is this
44:38
Speaker 2: the same mentality, It's like, well, all of that happened
44:41
Speaker 2: for you.
44:43
Speaker 3: Yeah.
44:44
Speaker 1: I like looking at things that like saying that things
44:48
Speaker 1: happen for a reason, you know, and everything happens the
44:51
Speaker 1: way it's supposed to. And I'm a Ugue believer in Christ,
44:56
Speaker 1: and He prepares you for those things, you know, And
45:00
Speaker 1: I think that all of those things I went through
45:02
Speaker 1: at that young age preparing for where I'm at now
45:04
Speaker 1: in life. So when when it comes, it's like I'm
45:07
Speaker 1: already strong enough to withstand it, and it's not surprised
45:12
Speaker 1: me where I'm just not figuring out how to do
45:15
Speaker 1: this or how to do that. And that's why I
45:16
Speaker 1: said early on that I realized it's a pattern that
45:19
Speaker 1: happens in my life where I'm down for a short time,
45:24
Speaker 1: but I just always on my way back to the
45:25
Speaker 1: top because I just realized that in nice of a
45:29
Speaker 1: God who's just so faithful, and I just think that
45:34
Speaker 1: just my faith and just how how much I believe
45:39
Speaker 1: you know in him is allowed me to just realize
45:42
Speaker 1: that this is not for long.
45:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's something so beautiful in believing that when something
45:49
Speaker 2: bad happens, that means that something good is just around
45:52
Speaker 2: the corner.
45:54
Speaker 1: Yes, I believe that, you know fully, and like I said,
45:58
Speaker 1: just the patterns that I am just seeing in my life.
46:01
Speaker 3: And even there's other persons around.
46:04
Speaker 1: Me, like earlier on this season, when I was having
46:06
Speaker 1: such a hard time in practice and I would have
46:10
Speaker 1: some compositions with my coach, He'll be like, you figure
46:13
Speaker 1: it out. You always do you always figure it out,
46:15
Speaker 1: and just I think just hearing that at the time,
46:21
Speaker 1: I wasn't a little upset because.
46:22
Speaker 3: I wanted some point to move my hand, you know,
46:25
Speaker 3: during that time.
46:26
Speaker 1: But then he was like, you figure it out, and
46:28
Speaker 1: I think that allowed me to just sit back and realize,
46:30
Speaker 1: you know, I always figure it out every single time.
46:34
Speaker 3: No matter what it is.
46:35
Speaker 1: It might take a little longer than some that other times,
46:37
Speaker 1: but I always figure it out in the end that
46:39
Speaker 1: I always know what to do after going through those hardships.
46:44
Speaker 3: So it just what happens in my life here.
46:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, again going back to that evidence. You know, someone
46:50
Speaker 2: comes to your social media page, they see an Olympic
46:56
Speaker 2: and World champion that's got something like five hundred thousand
46:59
Speaker 2: people and along with her. But when you look in
47:02
Speaker 2: the mirror, Julian, what is it that you see looking
47:05
Speaker 2: back at you.
47:06
Speaker 3: It's a strong, resilient woman.
47:09
Speaker 1: Like I'm just so strong just given just how much
47:14
Speaker 1: I have faced and the things that I have accomplished.
47:18
Speaker 1: You know, even though I faced those things, I'm just
47:20
Speaker 1: such a strong, resilient woman who just keeps pursuing what
47:26
Speaker 1: her heart desires and we just never stops until she
47:31
Speaker 1: gets it.
47:33
Speaker 2: So, yeah, what is it that your heart desires?
47:36
Speaker 1: Now?
47:36
Speaker 2: What excites you right now?
47:38
Speaker 3: Personally, my heart desires.
47:44
Speaker 1: Just being at peace with myself and knowing that I
47:49
Speaker 1: have done every single thing I possibly could have accomplished.
47:53
Speaker 1: And whether that's just building a new home for myself
47:57
Speaker 1: or continue my foundation in St. Lucia or giving back
48:01
Speaker 1: to the community, that's really what my heart desires.
48:04
Speaker 3: On the track, my.
48:07
Speaker 1: I just want to be the best athlete possible I
48:10
Speaker 1: possibly can be and to just get as many accolades
48:15
Speaker 1: as I can before I decide to walk away from
48:18
Speaker 1: the spot. So my heart truly desires Yeah.
48:22
Speaker 2: I appreciate that you led that with I want to
48:25
Speaker 2: be the best athlete that I can be because, yes,
48:28
Speaker 2: like the accolades are exciting, and obviously they're what you're after,
48:31
Speaker 2: But if you don't feel like you're truly walking in
48:34
Speaker 2: your purpose and doing the best that you can, then
48:36
Speaker 2: you know, what's the point?
48:38
Speaker 3: What's the point? Yeah, exactly, And I really want to.
48:42
Speaker 1: I want to just be the best, you know, just
48:44
Speaker 1: knowing the amount of work that I've put in the
48:47
Speaker 1: sacrifices at such a young age to get to this
48:50
Speaker 1: point in my career and.
48:53
Speaker 3: Just wanting to be the best.
48:55
Speaker 1: Even though I've accomplished being the Olympic Champion, a world champion,
49:00
Speaker 1: I think that there's still more out there for me,
49:02
Speaker 1: for me to accomplish that, you know, to also inspire
49:04
Speaker 1: other people as well.
49:06
Speaker 2: When you think about inspiring the next generation of both
49:10
Speaker 2: athletes and just individuals, especially from Saint Lucia, what is
49:14
Speaker 2: it that you hope that they see when they look
49:17
Speaker 2: at you, that no matter where.
49:21
Speaker 1: You're from, you can achieve big things. We're from a
49:24
Speaker 1: small island two hundred and thirty square miles that not
49:29
Speaker 1: many places know about us, and sometimes we made to
49:32
Speaker 1: think small because you're from a small place. But there's
49:35
Speaker 1: so much more other in the world. You can achieve
49:37
Speaker 1: great things no matter where you're from, even be from
49:39
Speaker 1: a tiny island like Saintwichia. So I'm just really hoping
49:42
Speaker 1: that the younger generation actually sees that, you know that
49:45
Speaker 1: they're smaller in the world, and I hope that being
49:48
Speaker 1: the Olympic Champion can also prove to them that small
49:52
Speaker 1: island big things, like you can just do whatever you
49:55
Speaker 1: put your mind to the matter where you're from.
49:58
Speaker 2: You know, obviously you want whoever wins something like an
50:03
Speaker 2: Olympic goal to be someone that is deserving, someone that
50:07
Speaker 2: puts in the work. But I do think that it's
50:10
Speaker 2: so special when someone like you, who comes from a
50:14
Speaker 2: circumstance like you do, that works so hard, can showcase
50:19
Speaker 2: just how impactful that hard work can truly be. And
50:23
Speaker 2: it's so cool to watch you give back now to
50:27
Speaker 2: your country.
50:28
Speaker 1: Thank you, yes and honor. I love my country. I
50:30
Speaker 1: mean I'm speaking an interview, I talk about my country,
50:33
Speaker 1: but you know, I'm Cenlusia through and through and being
50:37
Speaker 1: the top of the sword. I'm just I'm just happy
50:39
Speaker 1: to be solution. And it's always a problem with my
50:42
Speaker 1: represented Celusia. I'm always honored.
50:45
Speaker 2: I always end up wrap up the same way. Right now,
50:48
Speaker 2: you have an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of advice.
50:52
Speaker 2: Let's go back to Hey, even the beginning of this season,
50:56
Speaker 2: you're talking about being in such a dark place, really
50:58
Speaker 2: having to pull yourself out of those dark places. Knowing
51:03
Speaker 2: what you know. Now, what advice would you give yourself
51:06
Speaker 2: during that Hurtle moment, Julian.
51:08
Speaker 1: It's going to be okay, and there's a light at
51:12
Speaker 1: the end of the tunnel that your mother always talks
51:14
Speaker 1: about and you're going to see it soon, so give
51:17
Speaker 1: yourself some grace. It's okay, you're going to be okay
51:20
Speaker 1: and to yeah, be kinder to yourself because you're human.
51:25
Speaker 2: In the end, I love it. We all need a
51:28
Speaker 2: pep talk every now and again. Does your mom get
51:30
Speaker 2: to travel with you ever?
51:33
Speaker 3: Very rarely?
51:34
Speaker 1: She was at the Olympics and I usually see it
51:36
Speaker 1: when I go to London Diamond League.
51:38
Speaker 2: So yeah, oh perfect, Wow, So happy that you were
51:42
Speaker 2: able to come on the show today. Tell me how
51:44
Speaker 2: do people follow along with you? Where do they find you?
51:46
Speaker 2: On the socials?
51:48
Speaker 1: So Instagram Julian dot Alfred and that's the most I
51:53
Speaker 1: used to be quiet, honest, if anything, I only use
51:57
Speaker 1: stick talk like that. And then also on Facebook, book
52:00
Speaker 1: Julian Alfred.
52:02
Speaker 2: Spilled finder type it in I'm over at Emily a
52:07
Speaker 2: Bodi and at Hurdle Podcast another Hurdle Conquered. Catch you
52:10
Speaker 2: guys next time,