Thea LaFond soared 15.01 metres on her second attempt, the best jump in the world this year, to clinch the gold medal.
Thea LaFond needed just two attempts to win triple jump gold at the world indoor championships on Sunday and become Dominica’s first world champion in athletics. The X post of the World Athletics reads, “I am the only athlete here from my country, so to be able to come out and get the best possible outcome and put this little island on the map is a privilege. This one is for my people. Dominica’s Thea Lafond is the indoor triple jump world champ”.
On her second attempt, she soared 15.01 meters and finished with the world-leading time this year. Standing in silver is Cuba’s Leyanis Perez Hernandez, who leapt 14.90, while Spanish Ana Peleteiro-Compaore leapt 14.75. To whom the victory was “absolutely surreal”, has taken her nation to great heights.
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“We’re just a little island with a population of 70,000 people, so this one is for my people, all of my people”, she said. In another interview with the Athletics Weekly, the 29-year-old Dominica native brought out her patriotic side in full form. The X post quoted LaFond, “I am so proud to be from this small and beautiful country in the Caribbean. I hope today is just an inspiration and I love my people so much.” This was not the only instance where LaFond unfurled her victory flags.
LaFond’s previous best results were a Diamond League win in 2022 in Paris and Commonwealth Games silver and bronze medals.
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The 29-year-old wanted to have a shot at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women’s triple jump. Clocking in at 12.82 meters wasn’t enough of a qualifying time for her to move to the finals. However, things have changed over the last few years. Thea has grown over the years as a very successful athlete and Glasgow is just the start for the Dominican.
Subsequently, the main focus of the 29-year-old is to replicate her form in the forthcoming Paris Olympics. It will be an interesting lineup in the triple jump this time around.
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