Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred is bidding to add the world 100-meter gold in Tokyo to her Olympic title and says her triumph last year shows no matter how small a nation you come from there is no need "to feel inferior."

The 24-year-old displayed no fear at the Paris Games, despite only having turned professional in 2023 after a stunning U.S. college career, as she convincingly beat reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson.

On Saturday at the world championships, Alfred begins her campaign to become the first woman to hold both the Olympic and world 100 crowns simultaneously since Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won in Moscow in 2013 to add to her 2012 victory at the London Olympics.