The 2026 Commonwealth Games are set to kick off in Glasgow, Scotland’s most populous city, on July 23, but one of the Caribbean’s most high-profile track and field stars will be missing from the starting line. Julien Alfred, the 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medalist and 2024 Paris Olympic 100-meter champion, has pulled out of the competition just weeks before the opening ceremony, leaving the Saint Lucia Olympic Committee Inc. (SLOC) frustrated and disappointed by the last-minute change of plans.
The SLOC first unveiled its small 2026 Commonwealth Games team on July 1, more than two weeks ahead of the Games’ opening. The Caribbean nation is fielding athletes for just one of the event’s 10 total disciplines, with three track and field competitors set to represent the country: Khailan Vitalis in the men’s 110m hurdles, and Michael Joseph and Marvric Pamphile in the men’s 400m. Even at the time of the team announcement, local outlet St Lucia Times flagged Alfred’s unexpected absence, particularly after the sprinter had publicly shared her excitement to compete earlier this year. Back in January, Alfred told reporters she was eagerly anticipating the Glasgow Games, noting that she wanted to add a Commonwealth title to her growing collection of elite medals.
It was not until ahead of last weekend’s Monaco Diamond League meet that the 25-year-old sprinter, a native of the Ciceron district of Saint Lucia, confirmed her withdrawal to the media. “It just doesn’t work with my schedule as of now, so no, I won’t be [in Glasgow],” she told reporters.
On July 15, the SLOC, led by president Alfred Emmanuel, released an official statement on the withdrawal that laid out the committee’s position, though it offered little new detail on the root of the disagreement. The statement made clear that the national Olympic body is “extremely disappointed” by Alfred’s decision to skip the 2026 Games. According to the SLOC, both Alfred and her Bahamian manager Henry Rolle gave repeated assurances throughout 2025 that the sprinter would include the Commonwealth Games in her 2026 competition schedule. “Following talks with both Alfred and her manager Henry Rolles [sic] in 2025, our organisation was told that the Commonwealth Games would be included in her 2026 schedule,” the SLOC wrote in the statement.
The SLOC first learned of Alfred’s plan to withdraw during an undated meeting with the Saint Lucia Athletics Association (SLAA), the national governing body for track and field. Rather than reaching out directly to Alfred or her team immediately, the SLOC tasked the SLAA with requesting a full explanation for the broken commitment from Rolle. Rolle reportedly sent only a brief one-line response to the SLAA’s inquiry. After that, the SLOC directly contacted Rolle to request full clarification, and received a much longer response from the manager — but the committee has chosen not to release any details of the response, only noting that it considered the correspondence “rather unfortunate.”
Despite the public disappointment over Alfred’s withdrawal, the SLOC struck a conciliatory tone in closing its statement. The committee reaffirmed that there is a clear selection pathway for all Saint Lucian athletes aiming to compete at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, adding that it will continue to work with local member federations to ensure all eligible athletes get every possible opportunity to prepare and succeed at the highest levels of international sport. The SLOC also reiterated that it looks forward to continuing to support Alfred in all her future international competitions under the Saint Lucia national banner leading up to the LA 2028 Games.