Thea LaFond
Thea Noeliva LaFond 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.
Biography
LaFond emigrated from Dominica to the United States as a young child. During her childhood, she was a dancer. She is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she later returned to be a special education teacher. At the University of Maryland, LaFond was a multi-event athlete who competed in the heptathlon and indoor pentathlon.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.
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. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she served as Dominica's flag bearer, alongside fellow track and field athlete Dennick Luke. 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.
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. 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 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.
Personal life
LaFond is married to Aaron Gadson, who is also her coach. They live in Maryland. She is Catholic.LaFond has a brother, Chreign, who plays defensive end for the Navy Midshipmen.