Julien Alfred’s path to Olympic gold was far from smooth, but a single question from her coach changed everything.

“Are you ready to be Olympic champion?” asked Edrick Floreal, who has coached Alfred since her teenage years.

At the time, 23-year-old Alfred, was at her breaking point. She had just hit a low mentally and physically, struggling with her weight and self-doubt.

“I didn’t want to continue. I was so hard on myself. I was overweight, I was struggling mentally, and feeling like I couldn’t go on,” Alfred told BBC Sport.

“I told my coach I didn’t want to continue my season. I told my agent to cancel my meets.”

The pressure was mounting. After years of training, setbacks, and personal tragedy, Alfred, originally from St Lucia, was questioning everything.

She had lost her father at 12, and by 14, she had left home to pursue her Olympic dreams. The memory of her father, who was always there supporting her, weighed heavily on her mind.

“I felt like the person who wanted me to get to this point in my career was no longer here,” Alfred said. “I felt there was no need to continue.”

But Floreal’s unwavering belief in her potential reignited Alfred’s spirit.

“My coach took me off the track for a bit, we had a long conversation and we both cried on the phone.”

“The last thing he said to me was: ‘Are you ready to be an Olympic champion?’ He believed that I could be one.”

That belief proved prophetic. Alfred rebounded, and when the 2024 Paris Olympics arrived, she was ready to seize the moment.

In a historic final at the Stade de France, she stormed to victory in the women’s 100m, setting a national record of 10.72 seconds and beating world champion Sha’Carri Richardson to become St Lucia’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist.

The emotions were overwhelming. “Oh my God, I cried. I bawled my eyes out,” Alfred said. “Just seeing how far I’ve come but my dad not being there to see me accomplish it. It did hurt me, that he was not with me.”

The triumph didn’t stop there. Alfred followed up her Olympic 100m gold with a silver medal in the 200m, further cementing her place among the world’s best.

Her journey to the top was a long one. Despite early successes, including gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2017, Alfred faced setbacks and doubts.

She finished fourth in the 200m and fifth in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships, and after winning a world indoor 60m title earlier that year, the pressure intensified.

“I wasn’t motivated like before,” she admitted. “It felt so much pressure whenever I got a chance to race, because now I thought that St Lucians were expecting so much from me. I felt like I had to win every single time.”

Alfred’s breakthrough came after a difficult decision to prioritize her mental health. Her coach, agent, and family rallied around her, ensuring she was physically and emotionally ready for Paris.

She returned to competition with renewed focus, setting a 200m personal best at the London Diamond League in July.

The impact of Alfred’s victory was immediate back home in St Lucia, where she was greeted by a hero’s welcome.

“It’s such an amazing feeling [to represent St Lucia],” she said. “Life has changed in so many different ways. Using what I’ve done on the track to promote my country, that’s life changing.”

Alfred’s success has also made her a powerful advocate for the sport in St Lucia. The nation declared a national holiday in her honor in September, and she now serves as an ambassador for the country’s tourism.

“Just seeing how much of an impact I’ve had on so many people’s lives – that, to me, is also life changing.”

Julien Alfred’s journey to Olympic glory wasn’t just about athletic achievement – it was about resilience, sacrifice, and the unwavering support of those who believed in her when she didn’t believe in herself.