Thea Lafond honoured during Dominica’s 46th Independence Day celebration

Dominica honoured and celebrated Thea Lafond Gadson, the island’s historic Olympic gold champion, during the 46th Independence Day ceremonies.

Lafond arrived on stage wearing a traditional “Madras Print” attire, escorted by Billy Doctrove, President of the Dominica Olympic Committee, and accepted the accolade from President Sylvanie Burton.

President Burton hugged her after bestowing the prestigious distinction on Thea Lafond, demonstrating Dominican women’s empowerment.

Notably, Lafond created history at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris by taking home the Commonwealth of Dominica’s first-ever gold medal in the Triple Jump division. Her victory cemented her name in history and garnered national, regional, and international attention.

Since she was sixteen years old, Thea Lafond has represented Dominica on worldwide stages. She is also a world champion and the indoor gold medallist for World Athletics.

Over the years, Thea Lafond has won more than 14 major medals in international events. Prime Minister Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit also featured her photo on the Independence Day graphic.

Thea Lafond also published pictures from the ceremony and wrote, “Today, I got the National Award,” on her Instagram after receiving her honour at the Independence Day festivities.

Since her momentous victory, Lafond has become a global and Dominican icon for young girls.

Lafond and her husband, coach Aaron Gadson, reside in Maryland, USA, where they were married in 2022.

She also earned a bronze medal while competing for Dominica at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia and placed third at the NACAC Championship in Toronto, Canada, in the same year.

Despite being the flag bearer and representing Dominica at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Lafond finished 12th place.

Thea Lafond won the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, UK, with a record-breaking triple jump of 15.01 meters before winning the Olympics.