Silver medal but a golden moment for Alfred

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]n sports all that glitters is not necessarily gold. Case in point; sprinter Julien Alfred got silver and not gold at the recently concluded Youth Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, judging by the reaction of St Lucians and a reception in her honor at the VIP Lounge at Hewanorra International Airport on Saturday it sure seemed like a golden moment.

Following her arrival just after 2:30 pm on Saturday, after making her way from the American Airlines aircraft, Alfred was presented with a bouquet of flowers from an athlete with the Pace Setters Club. Also greeting her at the airport was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Donavan Williams and St Lucia Olympic Committee (SLOC) Inc Vice President, Lyndon Cooper.

Awaiting the silver medalist and Team St Lucia in the VIP Lounge was Acting Prime Minister, Lenard Montoute; Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Edmund Estephane; SLOC Treasurer, Joyce Huxley; Chef de Mission, Liota Charlemagne – Mason. Special guests also included Alfred’s family members, her long standing coach Cuthbert Modeste and members of the Pace Setters Club.

After introducing the team Charlemagne said: “As a nation we have every reason to be very proud of the athletes.”

She then went on to describe the performance of each team member beginning with swimmer Jayhan Odlum Smith who competed in the 50 fly and 100 metre free where he achieved personal best times.

Sheldon St Rose who competed in the 100 metres placed 10th in the first stage and in the second stage placed 12th out of 48 athletes.

When it came to the silver medalist Charlemagne – Mason said: “We had Julian Alfred in the first stage being in second place. We were hoping she would have been able to move into first place in the second stage but that did not happen for us. She kept her second positon and by one tenth of a second I believe she was outrun by the Nigerian who got first place.

The team not only faced challenges from competitors but also had to contend with the weather. “It was very, very cold and we were not prepare for it in terms of clothing,” said the Chef de Mission. “But we did not want to warm up the athletes too much and wanted them acclimatized to the weather especially the runners.”

The Chef de Mission had nothing but praise for the three athletes: “I have to say it was a young group of very talented focused individuals. At no time did we have to remind them what they were there for. At some point the coaches and myself started to worry they were not enjoying the experience because they were so focused on what they wanted to do. They would not even leave the room, they would just stay there and meditate.”

Having been the Chef de Mission for the first time, Charlemagne-Mason thanked the SLOC Inc for making it possible and said, “it was indeed a great experience for the athletes and myself and we are really happy we are back home.”

Cooper who was the next speaker, apologized for the absence of (SLOC) Inc President, Fortuna Belrose being absent, and on her behalf congratulated the athletes and gave the assurance that every single athlete appearing under the banner of the SLOC Inc have their support.

Cooper mentioned that in 2016 at an annual general meeting, Belrose expressed a desire to see more athletes stepping up on the podium and therefore intended to put the necessary resources into the athletes.

The SLOC Vice President went on to say: “It was less than year we came with much more medals in beach soccer [Commonwealth Youth Games] and track and field. One year later again we got an additional medal and here we are again in 2018, we are even adding more medals to the program. This is an indication that the President of the Olympic Committee has a clear vision and focus for sports in the country.”

Cooper pointed that even though we are unable to see our own athletes competing here in national events, the Olympic Committee is confident that in the near future we will see the construction of international size facilities to see our athletes compete at home.

Estephane who was much more than a casual observer at the Youth Olympics told the gathering: “I am not getting it second hand, I was there myself. In Argentina we had a team representing St Lucia. This is what you call a team. There was unity, there was encouragement, and there was just this inner spirit and togetherness. I commend the coaches and Chef de Mission for a job well done.”

The minister who is former national sprinter couldn’t help but make his own observation when it came to Alfred. He said: “Just observing her, how focused she was, how mature she is and dedicated, I realize that the sky’s the limit for this young lady.”

Taking those qualities into consideration the minister had a strong feeling Alfred would emerge victorious.

Following is his account of the race: “I was seated at the stands my task is to video the race. And the gun goes off. Oh it was a brilliant start and Miss Alfred is ahead and she’s gunning down that straightaway. And boy out of nowhere the last 10 metres the Nigerian came up on her and edged her out. Let me tell you something that was beautiful. This lady [Alfred] put her guts out in that race and could not have done any better under those circumstances.”

Using his own experience in a similar situation, Estephane reached the following conclusion. “Because Alfred was ahead, maybe that’s why the Nigerian was able to come up on her and finish very, very strong.

In closing he said: “I want to tell you Miss Alfred you did well, you did excellent. I know that in the future we have so much to look forward to when you go out to represent St Lucia. So congratulates on behalf of the government, the ministry and behalf of the people of St Lucia you did great.”

Acting Prime Minister, Lenard Montoute congratulated the whole team and referred to Alfred’s accomplishment as a national achievement and said “as a nation we are very proud of you and the performance of other team members.”

Like Estephane, having been a national athlete himself, Montoute recalled being in Scotland to compete at the Commonwealth Games, when the team received a telegram from the late Romanus Lansiquot (former Minister of Sports), stating that the team should boycott the Games on account of apartheid.

Although disappointed by the decision, he confessed: “As a member of Team St Lucia it did not matter, because we were mere participants with very little hope of making a dent in terms of the medal count.

What’s the moral of the story? “I am pleased to see how far we have come today, that we can send athletes out to those international events and expect to make a mark, expect to medal,” said Montoute.

He went on to say: “I do not think it is pre mature for us to begin to look ahead to the senior Olympics. When I hear of young St Rose placing 12th in a sprint event, the sprints are one of the events that is very advanced and is dominated by countries like Jamaica and the United States. For us to be able to break through and come within the first 12 in the men’s and in the first two for the ladies, that is remarkable and testimony of where we are in sports in St Lucia.”

What’s next? Montoute answers his own question! “We as a government are now embarking on a program of sports infrastructure development. It will include football pitches that will include courts as well as tracks around the island for the development of track and field.”

Needless to say much is expected of Alfred. Montoute when he remarked, “Miss Alfred I am not putting any pressure on you,” may have done so when he continued by saying: “We are looking forward because of the hope you have given us to changing that color from silver to gold and changing the level from junior to senior.”

Alfred received a round of applause when introduced by MC Ryan O’Brien. She began by praising the Almighty for giving her the strength and faith at the competition.

From start to finish it was not all smooth sailing for the silver medalist. While preparing for the competition she had to deal with a hamstring, back injury and had her own demons. Alfred gave high praise to former Sportswoman of the Year Makeba Alcide, long distance runner Michael Biscette and her coach and mentor Cuthbert Modeste for preparing her for the competition and getting through some tough times.

Coach Modeste who in his own quite way molded Alfred into the champion she is. Having said that, it’s unfathomable why he was not even given the opportunity to travel with his star athlete to the Youth Olympics which is a travesty.

Alfred is forever grateful for his assistance over the years and spoke of her coach in glowing terms. “I want to thank my coach,” she said. “There were times I doubted myself. During training sessions I would tell him you know what, I do not want to do this anymore. I do not want to go out there. People’s expectations of me are so high and for me to go out there and disappoint everybody would not be good.”

There was no disappointment with this gal who came through with a silver medal and just missed getting gold.

Call it divine intervention, but Alfred found inspiration in a scripture she received right before she competed in stage two. She became emotional and fought back the tears while reading a few lines from Jeremiah Chapter 29.   

Alfred admitted being under pressure before her final race and relied on the Chef de Mission, Coach Denise Herman and teammates for moral support.

There was a time this sprinter received what she called “negative comments” on Facebook because of her time in the stage one race. “Some people were saying some really bad things which I tried to ignore,” she said.

That being said, it made her even more determined to win. She worked on her start and in the stage two race was well on her way. Alfred told her attentive audience: “What I know is once I get ahead in the first 60 metres, I am well on my way to winning the gold medal.”

Reliving the last 40 meters as though it was yesterday Alfred said: “That didn’t happen. The last 10 metres of the race I got tense because I saw the girl from Nigeria [Rosemary Chukuma] plus the girl from Ecuador [Gabriela Analie Suarez] coming up on my side. I got scared because I was really going for gold and to see the girls at my side really did not know what to do. So I panicked and got really tense. The girl from Nigeria edged me out at the finish line. Nevertheless I was still proud of myself because despite what I encountered on the Sunday, I know God has something planned for me. I have a bright future and I am confident and focused as to where I want to go.”

In closing she thanked everyone including her mother Diana and Coach Modeste and said: “He has been there for me since grade three and always been like a dad to be ever since my dad passed way in 2013. He has always been by my side and I also have a great support system.”

The formal proceedings came to a close with Huxley presenting Alfred with a bouquet of flowers followed by everyone toasting St Lucia’s pride and joy.