Julien Alfred: Olympic champion snubs world title defense to focus on getting stronger for outdoor season

Saint Lucia's golden girl Julien Alfred will not defend her world indoor title, after disclosing this at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix press conference.

The Olympic 100m champion revealed she has decided to forego defending her 60m title at the World Indoor Championships in March, to get stronger for the outdoor season with a focus on dethroning Sha'Carri Richardson for the world outdoor title in August.

Last season, Alfred had one of the most iconic seasons' of any sprinter in history. She kicked off her year by claiming Saint Lucia's first world title ever when she blazed to the 60m gold medal in Glasgow.

Not resting on her oars, the 24-year-old went to the Paris Olympic Games as an underdog but came out victorious, after defeating pre-race favourite Richardson to the Olympic title in a new personal best time of 10.71s.

With her newfound fame as the new Olympic champion, Alfred proved again her championship titles were no fluke by capping off her season in astonishing style, becoming the Diamond League champion to end the year as the undisputed sprint queen in athletics.

She'll be making her 2025 season's debut at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, competing in the 300m against a formidable field that includes British record holder Dina Asher-Smith and American 400m specialist Lyna Irby-Jackson.