Thea LaFond
 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 |
Medal record | |
Thea Noeliva LaFond (born April 5, 1994) is a Dominican 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.
Biography
[edit]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]
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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]
LaFond is married to Aaron Gadson, who is also her coach.[16] They live in Maryland.
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 | 11th (q) | Triple jump | 12.66 m |
| 2014 | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 5th (q) | High jump | 1.81 m[17] |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 5th | Triple jump | 14.90 m |
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 1st | Triple jump | 15.01 m |
| 2024 Summer Olympics | Paris, France | 1st | Triple jump | 15.02 m PB NR | |
References
[edit]- ^ https://wtop.com/local-sports/2024/08/montgomery-co-woman-wins-dominicas-first-olympic-medal/
- ^ https://archiveofimmigrantvoices.omeka.net/items/show/10
- ^ 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.
- ^ https://www.mymcmedia.org/thea-lafond-takes-gold-in-womens-triple-jump/
- ^ https://www.mymcmedia.org/former-mcps-teacher-thea-lafond-going-for-gold-at-paris-olympics/
- ^ "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.
- ^ https://wtop.com/local-sports/2024/08/montgomery-co-woman-wins-dominicas-first-olympic-medal/
- ^ 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
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World Indoor Champions in women's triple jump | |
|---|---|
|
- 1994 births
- Living people
- Dominica triple jumpers
- Dominica female athletes
- Olympic athletes for Dominica
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Dominica
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- People from Roseau
- University of Maryland, College Park alumni
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games competitors for Dominica
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games
- Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- Maryland Terrapins women's track and field athletes
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for Dominica
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics