| Thea LaFond | |
| Birth Date: | 1994 4, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Roseau, Dominica |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Triple jump |
| Height: | 1.73 m |
| Weight: | 63 kg |
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 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] 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 7459square feet 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]
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]
| Representing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||
| 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 | bgcolor=silver | 2nd | Triple jump | 14.56 m | |
| NACAC Championships | Freeport, Bahamas | bgcolor=gold | 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 | |||
| 2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Triple jump | 15.01 m |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | bgcolor=gold | 1st | Triple jump | 15.02 m PB NR | |