Thea LaFond

Last updated

Thea LaFond
Thea LaFond Glasgow 2024.jpg
LaFond after winning gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.
Personal information
Born (1994-04-05) 5 April 1994 (age 30)
Roseau, Dominica
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event Triple jump
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Paris Triple jump
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2024 Glasgow Triple jump
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Triple jump
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Gold Coast Triple jump
Pan American Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2023 Santiago Triple jump

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.

Contents

Biography

LaFond 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]

LaFond at the 2019 ISTAF Berlin 2019-09-01 ISTAF 2019 Triple jump (Martin Rulsch) 26.jpg
LaFond at the 2019 ISTAF Berlin

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]

LaFond at the 2022 Athletissima. Athletissima 2022 8246.jpg
LaFond at the 2022 Athletissima.

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

LaFond 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

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica
2011 World Youth Championships Lille, France15th (q)High jump1.62 m
13th (q)Triple jump12.15 m
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain19th (q)Triple jump 12.66 m
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom11th (q)High jump 1.81 m [20]
11thTriple jump 12.64 m
2015 Pan American Games Toronto, Canada13thHigh jump 1.80 m
12thTriple jump 13.35 m
NACAC Championships San José, Costa Rica6thHigh jump 1.76 m
6thTriple jump 13.60 m
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil37th (q)Triple jump 12.82 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom19th (q)Triple jump 13.82 m
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom17thTriple jump 13.68 m
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia3rdTriple jump 13.92 m
NACAC Championships Toronto, Canada3rdTriple jump 13.74 m
2019 Pan American Games Lima, Peru8thTriple jump 13.70 m
World Championships Doha, QatarN/ATriple jump DNS
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan12thTriple jump 12.57 m
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia4thTriple jump 14.53 m
World Championships Eugene, United States5thTriple jump 14.56 m
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom2ndTriple jump 14.56 m
NACAC Championships Freeport, Bahamas1stTriple jump 14.49 m
2023 World Championships Budapest, Hungary5thTriple jump 14.90 m
Pan American Games Santiago, Chile3rdTriple jump 14.25 m
2024 World Indoor Championships Glasgow, United Kingdom1stTriple jump 15.01 m
Olympic Games Paris, France1stTriple jump 15.02 m PB NR

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatyana Lebedeva</span> Russian triple jumper and long jumper

Tatyana Romanovna Lebedeva is a Russian track and field athlete who competes in both the long jump and triple jump events. She is one of the most successful athletes in the disciplines, having won gold medals at Olympic, world and European levels. She has a long jump best of 7.33 m and held the then indoor world record mark of 15.36 m in the triple jump. In 2017 she was banned for doping.

Ashia Hansen, is a retired British triple jumper. Fourth in the 1996 Olympic final, she broke the world indoor record when winning the 1998 European Indoor title, and went on to win gold medals at the World Indoor Championships in 1999 and 2003, at the Commonwealth Games in 1998 and 2002, and at the 2002 European Championships. Her British records of 15.15 metres and 15.16 metres, still stand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahaut, Dominica</span> Place in Saint Paul Parish, Dominica

Mahaut is a village on the west coast of Dominica. It has a population of 2,399, which makes it the second largest commune in the parish of Saint Paul and was home to Dominica Colgate-Palmolive until the factory was closed in 2015 after Tropical Storm Erika.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominica at the Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Dominica first competed at the Olympic Games in 1996, and has participated in each Games since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olga Rypakova</span> Kazakhstani athlete (born 1984)

Olga RypakovaAlekseyeva; 30 November 1984) is a former Kazakhstani track and field athlete. Originally a heptathlete, she switched to focus on the long jump and began to compete in the triple jump after 2007. Her first successes came in the combined events at Asian competitions – she won the women's pentathlon at the 2005 Asian Indoor Games and took the heptathlon gold at the 2006 Asian Games the following year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominica at the Commonwealth Games</span> Sporting event delegation

Dominica have attended nine Commonwealth Games to date. The first came in 1958, with further appearances coming in 1962 and 1970, then they did not take part for twenty-four years. They have appeared at every Games since 1994. Dominica won its first ever Commonwealth Games medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eilidh Doyle</span> British track and field athlete

Eilidh Doyle is a retired British track and field athlete. Originally running as Eilidh Child, she specialised in the 400 metres hurdles outdoors, and the 400 metres flat indoors, as well as the 4 x 400 metres relay on both surfaces. She represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. Individually, she is the 2014 European Champion and a three-time Commonwealth silver medalist in the 400 metres hurdles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katarina Johnson-Thompson</span> English heptathlete (born 1993)

Katarina Mary Johnson-Thompson is an English athlete. A multi-eventer, she is primarily known as both a heptathlete and an indoor pentathlete. In heptathlon she is a double world champion, double Commonwealth Games champion and an Olympic silver medallist. In indoor pentathlon, she is a world and double European champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ese Brume</span> Nigerian long jumper (born 1996)

Ese Brume MON is a Nigerian athlete who specializes in the long jump. She is the current commonwealth champion and a three-time African senior champion in the long Jump and holds a personal best of 7.17 m She currently holds the commonwealth games record, African junior record and African record in the event. She's a two-time medalist at the world athletics championship, an Olympic bronze medalist and also a five-time African junior champion in athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jazmin Sawyers</span> British athlete

Jazmin Sawyers is a British track and field athlete and sports presenter who competes in the long jump, representing Great Britain and England. In 2023, she won her first major senior title at the 2023 European Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yulimar Rojas</span> Venezuelan athlete

Yulimar Rojas Rodríguez is a Venezuelan athlete who holds the world record for women's triple jump, at 15.74 m. She is the 2020 Olympic champion, a four-time World Champion, and three-time World Indoor Champion ; she is nicknamed la reina del triple salto – queen of the triple jump. Since 2014 she has held, and continued to beat, Venezuelan national records in triple jump and long jump. She is a recipient of the Venezuelan Order of José Félix Ribas – First Class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominica at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Dominica participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro from 5 to 21 August 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its sixth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The delegation included two athletes: Yordanys Durañona and Thea LaFond, both competing in the men's and women's triple jump, respectively. The former qualified for the Games by meeting qualification standards while the latter entered the quadrennial event through a wildcard place. Neither athlete progressed further than the first round of their sport events.

The women's triple jump at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as part of the athletics programme, took place in Carrara Stadium on 10 April 2018. Bronze medalist Thea LaFond was the first Dominican athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games, was a multi-sport event held in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, between 4 and 15 April 2018. 275 medal events were held at these games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominica at the 2019 Pan American Games</span> Sporting event delegation

Dominica competed at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molly Caudery</span> Cornish pole vaulter

Molly Caudery is an English athlete who competes in the pole vault event for England and Great Britain. Caudery is the 2024 World Indoor champion. She was also a silver medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and took bronze at the 2024 European Athletics Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyanis Pérez</span> Cuban athlete (born 2002)

Leyanis Pérez Hernández is a Cuban athlete who has won medals at the World Athletics Championships and World Athletics Indoor Championships in the triple jump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominica at the 2023 Pan American Games</span> Sporting event delegation

Dominica competed at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile from October 20 to November 5, 2023. This was Dominica's 8th appearance at the Pan American Games, having competed at every edition of the Games since 1995.

The women's triple jump at the 2024 Summer Olympics was held in Paris, France, on 2 and 3 August 2024. This was the eighth time that the event was contested at the Summer Olympics.

References

  1. "Montgomery Co. Woman wins Dominica's first Olympic medal".
  2. "Interview of Thea LaFond". 25 March 2015.
  3. 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.
  4. "Silver Spring's Thea LaFond Takes Gold in Women's Triple Jump".
  5. "Former MCPS Teacher Thea LaFond Going for Gold at Paris Olympics". 26 July 2024.
  6. "Thea Lafond". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  7. "Women's Triple Jump - Standings". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  8. "UPDATE: Thea Lafond wins bronze for Dominica at Commonwealth Games". Dominica News Online. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  9. "Athletics | Event Schedule Women's Triple Jump - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  10. "Athletics | Athlete Profile: Thea LAFOND - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  11. "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.
  12. "Thea Lafond reacts to making history in the triple jump". cbc.ca. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  13. "LaFond becomes Dominica's first Olympic medallist with triple jump gold in Paris". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  14. "LaFond wins triple jump gold to bring Dominica first ever Olympic medal". Reuters. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  15. "Thea LaFond makes Olympic history for Dominica, an island without a track". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  16. Wong, Melissa (26 August 2024). "Dominica rewards Olympic gold medallist Thea LaFond-Gadson". Loop News. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  17. "Montgomery Co. Woman wins Dominica's first Olympic medal".
  18. "Olympic triple jumper asks God: 'How did this happen?'". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  19. "Chreign LaFond - Football". Naval Academy Athletics. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  20. No mark in the final
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flag bearer for Flag of Dominica.svg  Dominica
Tokyo 2020
Paris 2024
with
Dennick Luke
Succeeded by
Incumbent