Thea LaFond

Thea LaFond
LaFond after winning gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.
Personal information
Born (1994-04-05) 5 April 1994
Roseau, Dominica
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event
Triple jump
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • Long jump: 6.64 m NR (2022)
  • Triple jump: 15.25 m NR (2026)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Dominica
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2024 ParisTriple jump
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2025 TokyoTriple jump
World Indoor Championships
Gold medal – first place2024 GlasgowTriple jump
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2026 GlasgowTriple jump
Silver medal – second place2022 BirminghamTriple jump
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold CoastTriple jump
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place2023 SantiagoTriple 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.

Biography

LaFond emigrated from Dominica to the United States as a young child.[1][2] During her childhood, she was a dancer (ballerina).[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.

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

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. In 2026, she won the gold medal in the women's triple jump at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal for Dominica.[12]

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.[13]

LaFond with her 2024 gold Olympic medal

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.[14][15][16] 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.[17]

Personal life

LaFond is married to Aaron Gadson, who is also her coach.[18] They live in Maryland. She is Catholic.[19]

LaFond has a brother, Chreign, who plays defensive end for the Navy Midshipmen.[20]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
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[21]
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
2025 World Indoor Championships Nanjing, China 4th Triple jump 14.18 m
World Championships Tokyo, Japan 2nd Triple jump 14.89 m
2026 World Indoor Championships Toruń, Poland 5th Triple jump 14.38 m
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 1st Triple jump 14.60 m

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. ↑ "Triple Jump trailblazer LaFond lands Dominica's first Commonwealth gold". Glasgow 2026. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Thea Lafond reacts to making history in the triple jump". cbc.ca. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  14. ↑ "LaFond becomes Dominica's first Olympic medallist with triple jump gold in Paris". World Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "LaFond wins triple jump gold to bring Dominica first ever Olympic medal". Reuters. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  16. ↑ "Thea LaFond makes Olympic history for Dominica, an island without a track". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  17. ↑ "Dominica rewards Thea LaFond-Gadson with $400k, land & diplomatic passport". St Vincent Times. 27 August 2024.
  18. ↑ "Montgomery Co. Woman wins Dominica's first Olympic medal".
  19. ↑ "Olympic triple jumper asks God: 'How did this happen?'". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  20. ↑ "Chreign LaFond - Football". Naval Academy Athletics. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  21. ↑ No mark in the final
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