{"id":20122,"date":"2024-12-10T13:50:16","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T18:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/?p=20122"},"modified":"2024-12-10T13:52:15","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T18:52:15","slug":"local-prodigy-turned-national-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/2024\/12\/10\/local-prodigy-turned-national-icon\/","title":{"rendered":"Local prodigy turned national icon"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gold medal doesn\u2019t look like it would happen for Montgomery County resident Thea LaFond. She had unsuccessfully competed in the two previous Olympics, in Rio and Tokyo, leaving both events with a broken heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then things changed in Paris when she stepped onto the triple jump runway for her native country, the Commonwealth of Dominica.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told myself that your body knows what to do, trust it. And I did my hop, I did my step, and in that step, I felt like I had so much speed and was covering so much ground, and I heard the crowd freak out before I even hit the sand,\u201d LaFond told 最新蜜桃影像.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was in the air, and I could hear the stadium scream, and I hit the sand, hopped out of the pit, and everyone’s going crazy. I see team Dominica in the stands with the flags, wailing, and tears coming down people’s faces. My husband is standing there with his hands up in the air, like, look at the greatness of this moment,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She recounts how she looked up at the screen to see 15.02 meters (49.27 feet) and her mind going blank with amazement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI let out the biggest scream. I think it was like all the downfalls, the hard times, the sacrifices. This day, Dominica got its first-ever Olympic medal, and it just so happens to be gold,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A prodigy of Montgomery County, Thea LaFond immigrated to the United States as a child with her parents from the Commonwealth of Dominica, a Caribbean country with a population of about 73,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LaFond has three siblings, including a brother at the Naval Academy who went<\/span> viral<\/span><\/a> on social media when he found out his sister won gold.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During an interview with 最新蜜桃影像, she recounted her years as an athlete at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland where she returned years later to teach special education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thea
Paris Olympics Gold Medalist, Thea LaFond. (Tayo Ojewunmi-Ojo \/ 最新蜜桃影像)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAll my friends were joining the track team, and so they talked me into joining with them,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LaFond had set her sights on distance running until her coach unknown to her at the time changed the trajectory of her life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHalfway through the workout, my head coach, Kevin Monroe, pulled me aside, and he was like, listen, I’m not trying to say that you can’t run far. Well, you’re from the Caribbean, and most Caribbean athletes are pretty explosive, so let’s try you in hurdles,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I did hurdles, and then I did sprints, and then I did long jump, high jump, and last was triple jump,\u201d she told 最新蜜桃影像.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LaFond, who studied international studies with a minor in public health at the University of Maryland, started training with a triple jump group in the area upon graduation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At her first Olympics outing in Rio, she finished last, hereby spurring her to find a new coach on her return home. A friend who was also a triple jumper turned coach, here in Montgomery County, Muhammad Halim introduced LaFond to her now coach, Aaron Gadson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWithin six months of working together, I jumped over half a meter further, which was unheard of in our world. And then we qualified for our first Olympics together,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Next up was the Tokyo Olympics and Covid had just hit, so the event got pushed to 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though she qualified for the finals. She got overwhelmed fouling a massive jump that she said would probably have given her a silver medal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my last jumps, I kind of just ran through the board. I was just so like, mentally all over the place, and I think it was too much pressure I\u2019d put on myself, but I really struggled afterward to be okay,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LaFond, who now advocates for mental health, said it took about a month for her to admit that she was actually struggling mentally and emotionally with what had happened in Tokyo.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I got a great sports psychologist, and over the next couple years, we worked to just building that self-confidence, getting rid of those nerves, getting rid of jumping scared and fear of disappointing myself or others again. And this year, 2024 I just let go of it, and I told myself that I’ve already experienced failure. I no longer fear it, so let’s just go get success,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thea
Paris Olympics Gold Medalist, Thea LaFond. (Tayo Ojewunmi-Ojo \/ 最新蜜桃影像)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0Speaking on why she represented her country of birth, the Commonwealth of Dominica as against the United States where she grew up, LaFond said it was never in doubt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was always going to be my home country. I always view myself as a Dominican very proudly. My parents never let me forget where I came from, and we frequented Dominica as much as we could during my childhood, there was always a connection there,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She takes pride in her dual citizenship as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Montgomery County is my home. My non-biological family, majority of it comes from this county,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Part of that non-biological family is her husband\/gold-winning coach Aaron Gadson.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the reception, Dominica gave her on her return, she said it was unbelievable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way the country responded, the way the people responded. We did a motorcade through half the country, and everyone was on the street, flags everywhere. For such a small nation, we tend to be so politically divided. And it was the first time I really saw Dominicans unite under the flag,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

LaFond, who\u2019s currently recuperating from injuries, is now giving back in Montgomery County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo right now, I do kind of extend my leadership programs more. Especially back to John Kennedy High School where I graduated from. Going back there and letting them hold the medal and talking to the kids, kind of bridging that gap between where you are and where you want to be,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking on what she would like her legacy to be, she said she just wants to make Dominica proud.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Thea
Montgomery County’s Thea LaFond at the just concluded Olympics Paris 2024. (Photo: NCAA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI want the Commonwealth of Dominica to be truly known to the world that we are not the Dominican Republic, that we are this fabulous place with amazing people, with a gorgeous culture, phenomenal food, and hospitality like no other. It truly is an amazing special place,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI also want people to see and remember a story of resilience that this dream of mine essentially took me 17 years from when I started to achieve it. And I want people to know that the road to success is not always straight,\u201d LaFond told 最新蜜桃影像.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI let out the biggest scream. This day, Dominica got its first-ever Olympic medal, and it just so happens to be gold.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":20154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[301],"tags":[],"coauthors":[699],"class_list":["post-20122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montgomery-county"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20122"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20168,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20122\/revisions\/20168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20122"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewash.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=20122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}