The younger brother of Thea LaFond received the news of her groundbreaking gold medal during football practice, leading to a heartfelt moment among the Navy team.
LaFond won gold in the women’s triple jump at the 2024 Paris Olympics, making history as the first athlete to win a medal for Dominica.
Chreign LaFond, her brother and a junior defensive end at the Naval Academy, couldn’t witness the event due to his football practice schedule.
However, Navy head coach Brian Newberry made sure he was informed about Thea’s success in Paris.
In a touching video shared on social media, Coach Newberry stopped practice on Saturday and called LaFond over.
Thea LaFond’s brother heard about her historic gold medal midway through football practice
LaFond triumphed in the triple jump, winning Dominica’s first ever medal at the Olympics
‘Hey,’ Newberry announced in front of the entire team, ‘your sister just won a gold medal, bro.’
This announcement led to exuberant celebrations among the Navy team and staff, who rushed to congratulate LaFond on the field.
Thea achieved her gold with a remarkable jump of 15.02m in Paris and moved to the United States from Dominica when she was just five years old, currently residing in Maryland.
After relocating, LaFond initially trained as a dancer.
However, at age 13, she had to stop due to her family’s inability to continue funding lessons.
She found her passion for track and field in high school and went on to compete at the University of Maryland.
Dominica lacks sufficient track and field facilities, and in 2017, Hurricane Maria caused damage to 90 percent of homes on the island, resulting in 31 fatalities.
This was not the only Caribbean island to secure its first Olympic medal on that day, as Julien Alfred of St. Lucia won the 100m title.
