A thrilling showdown between Julien Alfred and Shericka Jackson at the Miramar Invitational in Broward County, Florida, USA, came down to a nail-biting battle in the 300m race.
However, approaching the end of the race, Alfred held off a late charge from Jackson to claim victory in the women’s three-quarter-lap race.
Alfred impressively concluded the race with a 36.05-second finish, breaking her own Saint Lucian national record and advancing to the 28th spot on the all-time list.
Jackson came in second when she crossed the line in 36.13, while Gbai finished in third place in a time of 36.24. Barbados’ Sada Williams clocked 36.49 for the fourth position.
Alfred, the reigning Olympic 100m gold medallist, previously clocked 36.16 seconds indoors in February, but this time, she faced a more difficult challenge from Jamaican Shericka Jackson, the world’s premier 200m sprinter, who was returning from an earlier injury.
Jackson started the race in the lead, steadily closing the gap. She pulled level with Alfred as she quickly reeled in Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai by the 50m mark.
But in sheer determination, Alfred surged ahead in the home stretch to seal the win. The Jamaican world sprint champion finished just 0.08s behind her.
After the race, Alfred said, “Going forward, I am just going to keep working hard and trust myself.”
