'Very Hard for Me' – Julien Alfred Reveals Toughest Challenge Competing Against Sha'Carri Richardson and Elite Rivals

Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred has opened up about the struggles she had to endure competing against Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Shericka Jackson and other top sprinters this season.

In some events, Julien Alfred appeared far ahead of her opponents, but some of her toughest tests came during the Prefontaine Classic and World Championships, among other top competitions.

At the Prefontaine Classic, Julien Alfred, who was targeting a victory, was forced to finish second behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Google News, Stay informed with Latest Sport News

Julien Alfred also secured a bronze medal, finishing third behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and Tina Clayton in the women’s 100m at the World Championships.

Julien Alfred explained that she was largely indifferent to which rivals line up against her, noting that elite competition ultimately converges at the sport’s highest global event, where she expects to measure herself against the best regardless of the field.

She went on to reflect on how her preparation this season had shaped her mindset, revealing that much of her work was done independently and away from public attention.

According to Julien Alfred, this solitary approach affected the competitive edge usually sharpened in group training environments, making it more challenging to transition from controlled, non-confrontational sessions into races that demand immediate intensity and tactical aggression.

She emphasised that the mental shift from practice to competition has therefore required extra adjustment, as recreating race-day pressure without regular training partners is not always straightforward.

“To be quite honest, either one, it doesn't really matter who is in the race, because either way, I'll have to face them on the biggest stage, which is the World Championships. However, what I would say, it starts from practice and I'm going to be very honest,” Julien Alfred told Citius Mag.

“This year, even though it wasn't out there in the media, I have been training by myself. So when it comes to competition, it's very hard to switch that mentality where it’s not competitive in practice, to go into a race where it's competitive.”

Julien Alfred added that she had spent several months training largely on her own, which she felt made the transition into race situations particularly demanding, as she had to deliberately adjust her mindset to match the intensity of competition.

She stressed that it was not meant as a justification for performance, but rather an observation that regularly training in a highly competitive group can be beneficial because it forces athletes to maintain peak focus and intensity every day.

Julien Alfred added that constantly being pushed in such an environment helps athletes stay sharp and mentally ready for races.

She noted that, although she now has a training partner, the long period of isolation had made it difficult to quickly adopt a competitive mentality, which is why her coach later arranged for her to train alongside others to better prepare her psychologically and physically for race conditions.

“I think I've been training by myself since February. So when it comes to actually going into a race, I really had to switch that mindset into being competitive, which was very hard for me,” she added.

“And it's not an excuse, but I would say that, to others, it can be an advantage having that environment every single day, where it's always competitive, you're always on your A-game, you have to bring your A-game to practice every single time.

“And thankfully this year I have a training partner, but I just think that being by myself made it very hard for me to actually switch that mindset. Hence why, like later on in the season, my coach had me training with somebody to actually prepare me for that.”

Julien Alfred concluded that adjusting to running alongside other elite athletes had been especially challenging for her, particularly in high-profile meets such as the Prefontaine Classic, because she is not accustomed to consistently sharing space with competitors during preparation.

According to Alfred, lining up in fields where every athlete is equally strong requires a different mental and tactical awareness, one that is difficult to develop without regular side-by-side practice.

Julien Alfred suggested that this lack of familiarity may have made it easier for her to perform strongly when racing alone, while making head-to-head competition more demanding when faced with rivals capable of matching her stride and pace.