Thea LaFond

Thea Noeliva LaFond (born April 5, 1994) is a Dominican track and field athlete who competes in the triple jump. She won gold at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, setting a national record of 15.01 m and represented Dominica at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Biography
As a child, Thea Lafond was a dancer (ballerina) where she learned to accept criticism and focus on technical changes to form and movement.

At the University of Maryland, Thea was a multi-event athlete who competed in the heptathlon and indoor pentathlon and embraced the process of becoming a better athlete.

Thea 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. 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.

She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she served as Dominica's flag bearer, alongside fellow track and field athlete Dennick Luke. 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.