Big things in pipeline for JULIEN Alfred

Now that St Lucia's Julien Alfred has fulfilled his prediction for fast times in the 100 metres, St Catherine High School coach Marlon James sees big things ahead.

James foresees a strong showing for Alfred in her remaining meets for the University of Texas and pictures her in the World Championships 100m final in July.

"I know that her 200m time is going to come down and, with that, that will help her 100m as well. But we're looking at definitely sub-11. 10.8, I know that's there," James said in an interview earlier this year.

Alfred, 20, lowered her personal best from 10.98 to 10.81 seconds in last week's Big 12 Conference Championships in the heats and then with the wind just above the allowable limit, she won the final in 10.80.

"I believe there's more in store", James said yesterday. "Of course this is just the conference. They have the regionals coming up and of course the (NCAA) finals but I am pretty confident she can replicate these performances."

The only woman with a faster 100m time this year is Jamaica's four-time World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce at 10.67 seconds.

Alfred's Big 12 performance represents a recovery from her disappointing result at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March where she placed fifth in the 60m final after setting a new NCAA record of 7.04 seconds in the preliminary round. "She overcame that hurdle and I'm proud of her. So I'm expecting big things," said the coach who guided her to the 2018 Commonwealth Youth 100m crown.

He tipped his hat to Texas coach Edrick Floreal for his work with Alfred and Kevona Davis who finished second in both the 100m and 200m, with personal best times of 10.95 and 22.26 seconds along the way. "I must say kudos to the coaches at Texas, because Kevona has really, really come to the fore and I'm really proud of her as a fellow Jamaican," James said.

Noting that Alfred ran 22.46 and 22.64 en route to fourth in the Big 12 200m final, James looked ahead with relish. "What I love is that she's still running the 200m and doing solid in the event. So with that 200m strength, that of course will assist her rounds," he calculated with his mind on the 100m in Eugene, Oregon, the United States city hosting the World Championships from July 15-22.

He thinks Floreal will get Alfred ready for the Worlds. "We know the whole story with the collegiate athletes and that they try the double peaking and the coaches sometimes get it right but I believe that this coach, coach Floreal, knows what he's doing and I believe that he will get her real prepared for July," James concluded.