PARIS – After turning into the primary world champion for Dominica, Maryland alum Thea LaFond added Olympic Champion to her resume after taking Gold within the triple bounce on Saturday at Stade de France.
Thea LaFond, what a narrative:
– Born in Dominica
– Moved to Maryland at 7
– Began monitor in highschool
– 2015 B1G Subject Athlete of the Yr
– Taught in Montgomery County Colleges to assist her dreamNow, she’s her nation’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist. Proud she’s a Terp pic.twitter.com/qupvLHOdgq
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) August 3, 2024
LaFond posted a mark of 15.02 meters (49-feet, 3.5 inches) – a brand new nationwide file within the occasion – to turn out to be the primary Maryland monitor and area alum to medal within the Olympics. She is the tenth Gold medalist in Maryland historical past and the primary Terp student-athlete to win Gold since Vicky Bullett in 1988. She hit the personal-best mark after going 14.35 meters (47-feet, 1 inch) within the qualifying spherical on Friday.
The outcome was additionally historical past for her Caribbean island nation because the nation’s first ever Olympic medal.
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts and American Jasmine Moore took silver and bronze, respectively.
LaFond took the lead on her second try with the mark of 15.02 meters – a world greatest this yr.
A historic first 🫶
Thea Lafond delivers the primary ever Olympic medal to Dominica.
And it is a glittering triple bounce gold with a 15.02m nationwide file 🏆#Paris2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/QeLDYNtU7F
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 3, 2024
Earlier this yr, LaFond gained the triple bounce title on the 2024 World Indoor Championships. She posted the highest bounce on the earth at 49-feet, 3-inches for the yr.
THEA LAFOND IS AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST!!
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) August 3, 2024
This additionally marked the third Olympics for LaFond as she competed within the 2016 and 2021 video games.
Earlier than starting her skilled profession, LaFond earned a number of All-American honors at Maryland, together with inserting within the top-ten in each the ladies’s excessive bounce and triple bounce at NCAA Out of doors Championships in 2013. Within the indoor season in 2013, Lafond was named the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Subject Athlete of the Yr. Throughout her senior season in 2015, Lafond was named the Huge Ten’s Subject Athlete of the Yr.