Dominica: Thea Lafond breaks another national record

Thea Lafond, the national triple jumper of Dominica once again proved her extra potential by breaking the record books. She again creating a new national record and a world-leading result.

She won the Dr. Martin Luther King Collegiate Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a leap of 14.62 metres, creating a new American record and the greatest mark by any triple jumper in the world for 2022.

Despite this incredible feat, Lafond told the Dominica Olympic Committee (DOC), "I didn't like the 14.62m jump." I see numerous areas where I can improve, and I intend to do so. With two World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the NACAC Championships, the year will be jam-packed. I intend to create an impression at each one."

This isn't the first time the young athlete has made Dominica famous for her exceptional abilities.

In 2021, the Commonwealth triple jump bronze medallist, who is from Mahaut but now resides in the United States of America, unleashed the jump of her life (14.52m), shattering her own national record and setting the best jump of the year globally.

Months later, as the first female Dominican athlete to compete in two consecutive Olympic Games, Lafond achieved a new national record and personal best with a leap of 14.60 metres at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Before suffering a season-ending injury in 2019, she set the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) outdoor record of 14.38m. Returning to the track, she broke the Olympic mark by a millimetre in February 2020, becoming the first woman from the OECS to meet the Tokyo 2020 criteria.

Despite her many achievements, she has had some setbacks, one of which being her performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. LaFond ranked 37th and last with a mediocre best of 12.82m, struggling for confidence in the biggest competition of her life.

However, as the adage goes, you win some and lose some. In 2017, she broke two national records with a new technique and coach, including a 14.20m leap at the Penn Relays. The next year, she went even farther and created history by becoming the first Dominica athlete to win a Commonwealth Games medal, which she followed up with notable achievements in 2019 and 2020.