"Mother didn't let us know we were poor"- Noah Lyles' girlfriend Junelle Bromfield opens up on childhood struggles growing up in impecunious community

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Sep 24, 2024 07:53 GMT

Jamaican sprinter Junelle Bromfield recently opened up about her life in a conversation with Simone Clarke-Cooper on the show "Sim Soul Sessions." From her early struggles to her experiences at the Paris Olympics, Bromfield spoke about multiple aspects of her life.

The Jamaican sprinter shared glimpses of her childhood and the struggles she had to endure before she pursued athletics as a career. Bromfield said,

"So, I grew up in a poor community, it's called Georges Valley, where I grew up, and I didn't see a profession bigger than a teacher at a point when I was in there. So growing up, I'd say my mom did a pretty amazing job of not letting us know that we were poor, coz we never went to bed hungry or anything" [2:48].

Bromfield added how her mother used to make up for the lack of resources. She said,

"But when I was eight, I traveled, and I use this story as a reference. Like, on nights when we didn't use to have money, she used to make us oats, and it was delicious, because she used, like, nutmeg and everything, and it was good. But we used to wait like thirty minutes to get that oatmeal, because she had to soak the oatmeal in the fridge, and when we got it, half the cup was water."

Junelle Bromfield represented Jamaica for the second consecutive time at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She ran in the the mixed 4x400m relay team which finished fifth in the final. In the 400m meanwhile, Bromfield got eliminated in her semifinal heat, finishing last.

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Junelle Bromfield's Paris Olympics controversy

Junelle Bromfield of Jamaica during the women's 4x400m relay preliminaries at the Tokyo Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

Junelle Bromfield looked to be having a relatively successful time as a relay runner, with a gold in the women's 4x400m relay at the 2022 World Indoor Championships, a silver in the same event at the outdoor World Championships 2022, and a bronze from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

However, a comment from her boyfriend Noah Lyles's interview looked to have turned her world upside down. He shared that he knew some of the stories from the "Jamaican camps, as well as about potential upcoming athletes from the Caribbean nation, thanks to his conversations with Bromfield.

Jamaican athletics fans did not take to this interview kindly, and the athlete received plenty of brickbats, with some fans calling her a 'traitor'. In the wake of this, Lyles wrote an Instagram post in her defense. He wrote,

"The most impressive thing I’ve seen recently is how she’s dealt with the pure disrespect and hatred towards her from her own country. This woman has been attacked by people who have never met her, heard her name before, never seen her smile, or heard what she believes in. But she keeps moving forward knowing that God will always make a way. That's why God keeps blessing her!”

In her interview with Simone Clark-Cooper, Bromfield said she had to turn off her inbox, due to the messages sent to her. She said,

"I mean, during the Olympics, and even before like, I had to turn off my inbox, because I was getting death threats from people. I had Jamaicans in my inbox, sayimg that they wish my foot gets broken when I'm running at the Olympics , and If I come home, they're going to...basically kill me. So, I didn't feel like it was the right time, even though I wanted to go back to see my family, to go home"

Junelle Bromfield currently lives in the USA with her boyfriend Noah Lyles. She accompanied him at the victory parade in his hometown, held in honor of his achievements at the 2024 Paris Olympics.