Thea Noeliva LaFond (born April 5, 1994) is a Dominican-American track and field athlete who competes in the triple jump. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she won gold in the triple jump to claim the first-ever Olympic medal for Dominica. LaFond was also the 2024 World Indoor triple jump champion.
 LaFond after winning gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 April 1994 Roseau, Dominica |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event | Triple jump |
Biography
editLaFond emigrated from Dominica to the United States as a young child.[1][2] During her childhood, she was a dancer (ballerina) where she learned to accept criticism and focus on technical changes to form and movement.[3] She is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she later returned to be a special education teacher.[4][5]
At the University of Maryland, LaFond was a multi-event athlete who competed in the heptathlon and indoor pentathlon and embraced the process of becoming a better athlete.
LaFond competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's triple jump; her result of 12.82 meters in the qualifying round did not qualify her for the final.[6][7]
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Competing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she made history, becoming the first Dominican athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games after securing a bronze medal in the women's triple jump.[8][9][10]
She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she served as Dominica's flag bearer, alongside fellow track and field athlete Dennick Luke.[11]
During the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she improved her result and won a silver medal in the women's triple jump event.
On 3 March 2024, LaFond became the first person from Dominica to win a World Championship gold medal, after taking first place in women's triple jump at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, setting a national record of 15.01 m.[12]
She won her country's first-ever Olympic medal when she took gold at the Paris Games, setting a new national record record of 15.02 metres in the process.[13][14][15] Thereafter, she was rewarded by the government of Dominica with $400,000, appointment as a national sports ambassador, a diplomatic passport, as well as a 7,459-square-foot (693.0 m2) parcel of land in the village of Warner, Saint Paul Parish. A track and field facility would also be built and named in her honour, and she would be granted the Dominica Award of Honour during independence day celebrations in early November.[16]
Personal life
editLaFond is married to Aaron Gadson, who is also her coach.[17] They live in Maryland. She is Catholic.[18]
LaFond has a brother, Chreign, who plays defensive end for the Navy Midshipmen.[19]
International competitions
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing  Dominica
| |||||
| 2011 | World Youth Championships | Lille, France | 15th (q) | High jump | 1.62 m |
| 13th (q) | Triple jump | 12.15 m | |||
| 2012 | World Junior Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 19th (q) | Triple jump | 12.66 m |
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 11th (q) | High jump | 1.81 m[20] |
| 11th | Triple jump | 12.64 m | |||
| 2015 | Pan American Games | Toronto, Canada | 13th | High jump | 1.80 m |
| 12th | Triple jump | 13.35 m | |||
| NACAC Championships | San José, Costa Rica | 6th | High jump | 1.76 m | |
| 6th | Triple jump | 13.60 m | |||
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 37th (q) | Triple jump | 12.82 m |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 19th (q) | Triple jump | 13.82 m |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 17th | Triple jump | 13.68 m |
| Commonwealth Games | Gold Coast, Australia | 3rd | Triple jump | 13.92 m | |
| NACAC Championships | Toronto, Canada | 3rd | Triple jump | 13.74 m | |
| 2019 | Pan American Games | Lima, Peru | 8th | Triple jump | 13.70 m |
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | N/A | Triple jump | DNS | |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 12th | Triple jump | 12.57 m |
| 2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 4th | Triple jump | 14.53 m |
| World Championships | Eugene, United States | 5th | Triple jump | 14.56 m | |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 2nd | Triple jump | 14.56 m | |
| NACAC Championships | Freeport, Bahamas | 1st | Triple jump | 14.49 m | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 5th | Triple jump | 14.90 m |
| Pan American Games | Santiago, Chile | 3rd | Triple jump | 14.25 m | |
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 1st | Triple jump | 15.01 m |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 1st | Triple jump | 15.02 m PB NR | |
References
edit- ^ "Montgomery Co. Woman wins Dominica's first Olympic medal".
- ^ "Interview of Thea LaFond". 25 March 2015.
- ^ CITIUS MAG (3 March 2024). Thea Lafond Wins Dominica's First Ever Gold Medal With 15.01m Triple Jump at World Indoor Champs. Retrieved 20 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Silver Spring's Thea LaFond Takes Gold in Women's Triple Jump".
- ^ "Former MCPS Teacher Thea LaFond Going for Gold at Paris Olympics". 26 July 2024.
- ^ "Thea Lafond". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ "Women's Triple Jump - Standings". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ "UPDATE: Thea Lafond wins bronze for Dominica at Commonwealth Games". Dominica News Online. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Athletics | Event Schedule Women's Triple Jump - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Athletics | Athlete Profile: Thea LAFOND - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Athletics LAFOND Thea". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Thea Lafond reacts to making history in the triple jump". cbc.ca. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ "LaFond becomes Dominica's first Olympic medallist with triple jump gold in Paris". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "LaFond wins triple jump gold to bring Dominica first ever Olympic medal". Reuters. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Thea LaFond makes Olympic history for Dominica, an island without a track". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ Wong, Melissa (26 August 2024). "Dominica rewards Olympic gold medallist Thea LaFond-Gadson". Loop News. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ^ "Montgomery Co. Woman wins Dominica's first Olympic medal".
- ^ "Olympic triple jumper asks God: 'How did this happen?'". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Chreign LaFond - Football". Naval Academy Athletics. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ No mark in the final
External links
edit
- Thea LaFond at World Athletics
- Thea LaFond at Olympics.com
- Thea LaFond at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- Lafond revels in historic gold for Dominica! She is Dominica's 1st global athletics gold medallist. The Zone invite Thea Lafond, Dominican triple jumper to discuss her historic gold medal performance at the World Indoor Championships. March 6, 2024
