Silver Spring resident and former teacher Thea LaFond won the Olympic gold in the women’s triple jump on Saturday, clinching the medal with her second jump of 15.02 meters.
LaFond, who entered the Olympics as one of the favorites due to her gold medal-winning performance at the World Indoor Athletics Championships last March, finished ahead of Shanieka Ricketts (silver) and Jasmine Moore (bronze) and celebrated her victory draped in the flag of her native country of Dominica.
Six years ago, she made history as the first athlete to win a medal for her country in the triple jump event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, securing a bronze medal, according to The MoCo Show.
Despite competing under the Dominican flag, LaFond has deep local ties. She moved with her family to Silver Spring at the age of seven, graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Wheaton, and went on to the University of Maryland in College Park, where she broke the school’s record in the triple jump at the 2013 NCAA Championships with a distance of 43-05.75.
Huge congratulations to John K. Kennedy Alum, Thea LAFOND!!! Gold medal in the triple jump!! So very proud! Always been relentless!! @athletics_jfk @mcpsAD pic.twitter.com/qjnQbNFsqo
— Blair Athletics (@BlairAthletics) August 3, 2024
In an interview with Moderately MOCO ahead of the Olympics, LaFond said that she began running in her freshman year of high school at Kennedy. “I initially didn’t want to do track, but my friends pushed me.”
Previously, LaFond did ballet and volleyball, where she said she learned her self-criticism and discipline.
“Some sports are a gateway to other sports, and I think it’s necessary that kids have those opportunities to try out different ones,” LaFond said.
Later, she went to work as a teacher in the Montgomery County Public Schools system, where she taught special education, math, and a course she called Life 101, which taught kids how to open checking accounts, save money, and avoid overextending credit cards.
According to The Washington Post, in 2022, LaFond decided to stop working and focus entirely on her triple jump career. “Taking off a Friday and going to Finland on Thursday [night] and coming back and being in the classroom Monday morning took a toll,” LaFond said.
Thea LaFond, what a story:
– Born in Dominica
– Moved to Maryland at 7
– Started track in high school
– 2015 B1G Field Athlete of the Year
– Taught in Montgomery County Schools to support her dreamNow, she's her country's first-ever Olympic gold medalist. Proud she’s a Terp pic.twitter.com/qupvLHOdgq
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) August 3, 2024
LaFond plans to construct a racetrack on Dominica, where Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017, destroying most of its structures and causing $1.2 billion in damage.
“I want these children and the next generation to have accessibility,” LaFond told the Post. The Caribbean is producing diamonds. The ability to hop on a track and play around, you know?”
Photo: “Athletissima 2022 8246” by Johann Conus is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.