ST. LUCIA’S sprint sensation Julien Alfred earlier this week on June 10th, her birthday to be exact, laid down another marker in her short athletic history when she won the women’s 100m race at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway. The now 25-year-old Saint Lucian sprinter stormed across the finish line in 10.76 seconds and collected her second Diamond League victory in less than two weeks. The achievement also marks Alfred’s fourth consecutive win this year as well as her sixth fastest 100m time in any condition.
In all this, what is St. Lucia biggest takeaway? Maybe it is the fact that the country has stepped onto the international athletic stage in grand fashion. Maybe the biggest takeaway should be that St. Lucia, as a nation, has the talent to compete on the international track as opposed to conceding that the much-loved Alfred is a once in a lifetime phenomenon.
St. Lucia is not without credible future prospects. The likes of Naomi London are following the Julien Alfred lead identically in some respects.
How do we identify that talent and what is done to support and nurture that talent into success?
Island Champs is currently the key avenue to scout raw talent on the island and thanks, in large measure to the Ministry of Sports, the event seems to be on the right trajectory, expanding in participation and support every year.
The St. Lucia edition of Island Champs, while improving, is still a far cry from what the Jamaica model is and a considerable number of years behind. The Jamaica conveyor belt model is one to emulate but it requires a deep dive into identifying the talent early and what should come immediately after to harness what is necessary for the athlete’s future.
Earlier this week Cuthbert “Twois Ti Nay” Modeste was visibly excited about a young athlete who, according to him, has the makings of a top performer. Modeste was actively involved in the early nurturing of St. Lucia’s sprint queen Julien Alfred and is actively involved, on a daily basis, in the development of local junior athletes. While very excited about the prospect he was equally energized about sourcing support to provide much needed resources for the athletes’ further development, while admitting not knowing where that support would come from.
Is it a case where we are waiting to see our athletes succeed first before we offer the necessary support?
There must be a master plan establishing how we deal with athletic prospects. As a matter of fact, there should be a plan across the sporting spectrum.
Anyone involved in sports locally will admit that often times we come to recognize the ability of our potentials way too late giving them little to no chance to perform on the world stage.
This proposed master plan must engage the likes of Modeste, and others involved in the development of young sports minded individuals so as to capture that talent at the earliest possible age in an effort to maximize their potential sporting existence.
Island Champs by itself is obviously not enough. Gone are the days when we should be begging for support for young athletes, and while there may be efforts afoot to assist, it seems too little and not planned and structured.
Now that Julien Alfred is a household name around the world, what about a 4×100 meter relay team? Is it that we do not have the talent or we have not thought that far ahead to nurture the prospects?