Julien Alfred made her feelings known about her 200m opener at the Tom Jones Invitational. The event was scheduled to be held from April 18-19 at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida.The Saint Lucian athlete opened her outdoor season this year by competing in the 300m race at the 2025 Miramar Invitational in the United States on April 5, 2025. She clocked a national record of 36.05s, besting the Jamaican athlete, Shericka Jackson, who finished 0.08s behind her, claiming the second-place.Days after this race, Alfred ran her first 200m of the 2025 track season at the Tom Jones Invitational and again stood atop the podium after recording 21.88s. She bested Favour Ofili and Tamari Davis, who registered 22.34s and 22.37s, respectively. Following this race, the 100m Olympic champion fielded questions surrounding the ins and outs of her 200m race in the post-race interview. When asked if she expected her 200m opener to be this good, she replied by saying:"Especially based on what my coach and I have been working on, I did. He did sell be around there. However, I'm super grateful to be healthy and looking forward to see what the season holds," saod Julien Alfred.She further opened up about whether working on longer-distance races helped her in this race:"It did actually, I really did feel stronger and not breaking down as much as I did before. So I definitely feel the benefits of those longer races," she added.Julien Alfred had an impressive 2024 season, which saw her win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics in the 100m dash after posting a time of 10.72s, besting the event's favorite, Sha'Carri Richardson.Julien Alfred opened up about her indoor season opener and training for the 2025 track yearJulien Alfred commenced her 2025 indoor season by competing at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on February 2, where she ran in the 300m race. She stood atop the podium after registering a national record of 36.16s, and shortly after this stellar performance, the Saint Lucian spoke to Tiara Williams about the race and made her feelings known about experimenting with 300m races."It was something, but to be honest, my coach and I have been working really hard. We're working on my strength and endurance as well. So most of the in and out would be 300, 400. But you know, I'm just going according to what he has planned for me. I'm hoping, looking forward to it, working with my coach to get that done," said Julien Alfred. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostOn the same day, she sat for another interview with Flo Track, where she spoke about her training sessions for the 2025 track season. Calling it a 'lot harder,' she said: (as quoted by Pulse Sports)"Oh my God, training has been so different this year. It's been a lot harder than before thanks to Flo. But you know now Olympics is over and (I am) preparing for world championships in September I believe." Along with the 100m gold medal, Julien Alfred also won a silver medal in the 200m dash at the Paris Olympics.