World champion sprinter Julien Alfred, currently ranked as the joint second-fastest woman in history over 60 meters, is poised to challenge one of athletics’ most enduring records as she opens her 2026 season at the prestigious Millrose Games. The World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold event, scheduled for February 1st at New York City’s Armory facility, will mark Alfred’s highly anticipated return to the indoor circuit after a year’s absence from the 60m event.
The Saint Lucian speedster, who captured the 2024 World Indoor Championship title, currently boasts a personal best of 6.94 seconds—merely two-hundredths of a second shy of Irina Privalova’s legendary world record set over three decades ago. This marginal difference has become the primary focus of Alfred’s training regimen as she seeks to etch her name in the history books.
Alfred’s relationship with the 60m distance runs deep, having extensively competed in the event during her collegiate career and early professional years. In a recent appearance on the CITIUS MAG podcast, the Olympic gold medalist expressed genuine enthusiasm for her return to indoor racing: ‘I love the 60m. It’s really a fun event for me doing the things that I actually love and enjoy. Considering that the 60m is something I really love, I decided it would be part of my plans for 2026.’
Currently balancing vacation time with intensive training in her native Saint Lucia, where she also serves as a tourism ambassador, Alfred has been preparing for this record attempt since early November. Her coaching team, led by Edrick Floréal, has implemented a meticulous technical analysis program focused on deconstructing Privalova’s record performance. ‘We spent time looking at the different increments of the world record and just how she ran it, particularly her first 10 meters,’ Alfred revealed. ‘That’s when I started paying attention to the way I run and analyzing my race pattern.’
The Millrose Games will present a formidable competitive field, featuring American rivals Aleia Hobbs (who shares Alfred’s 6.94 second benchmark) and defending champion Jacious Sears. British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, Alfred’s former training partner, will also join the lineup, ensuring a world-class competition that could potentially produce record-breaking conditions.
Alfred already holds the Millrose Games meet record at 6.99 seconds, achieved in 2024—one of her five career sub-seven-second performances. This places her behind only Privalova’s remarkable 13 sub-seven-second runs in the historical rankings. The upcoming event represents not only a personal challenge for Alfred but an opportunity to join the most exclusive company in sprint history.
The 24-year-old’s journey to sprinting elite status began during her collegiate career at the University of Texas, where she became the third-fastest teenager in 60m history before the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended her 2020 season. Now in her third professional year, Alfred has strategically designed her 2026 campaign around this record attempt, having bypassed major outdoor championships this season to focus on this singular goal.