Thea LaFond made history for the Caribbean island nation of Dominica by winning gold in the triple jump on Saturday to claim the country’s first-ever Olympic medal.
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts took silver and American Jasmine Moore claimed bronze.
LaFond was the woman to beat after her second attempt of 15.02 metres – a world best this year – and it proved impossible to better, with rain also making conditions more treacherous.
“This is for you guys,” said LaFond, draped in the flag of Dominica, which has a population of just over 70,000, after celebrating wildly in the Stade de France.
“We don’t often have a lot to celebrate, we’re amazing people… and this is the first time in history, this is a ground-breaking celebration.”
LaFond’s triumph capped a good night for the Caribbean, with St Lucia also winning its first ever medal thanks to Julien Alfred storming to 100 metres gold ahead of American Sha’Carri Richardson.
“I’m so grateful to Julien because I saw her get that gold indoor (60 metres this year in Glasgow) and I was like, I’m getting a gold too, and saw her get that gold a few hours ago and I was like, I’m getting my gold too,” said LaFond.
The 30-year-old, who was born in Dominica and emigrated with her family to the United States when she was five, won the World Indoor Championships title in March.
“MAKING HISTORY”
“We’re making history for our islands and that’s what we set out to do every time we get on the track,” she added.
The triple jump was made more unpredictable this year after Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas, the world record holder and Tokyo gold medallist, missed the Games with an Achilles tendon injury.
Ricketts jumped her season’s best of 14.87 metres to win silver, in what she called redemption after just missing out on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics.
“It went spectacular. This is a dream come true,” she said.
Moore, who won bronze with 14.67, is the first woman to make the U.S. Olympic team in both triple jump and long jump and is set to compete in the latter event on Tuesday.
Spain’s Ana Peleteiro-Compaore, the bronze medallist in Tokyo, (14.59) was visibly upset with her performance as she was unable to match LaFond’s mark and finished sixth.
World number one Leyanis Perez Hernandez of Cuba came fifth with a jump of 14.62 metres.
Reuters
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