Olympics
Navy defensive end’s sister wins Olympic gold; his teammates celebrate with him
From staff and wire reports
August 4, 2024
On Saturday, Navy stopped its football practice so defensive end Chreign LaFond could get a bit of very big news: His sister, Thea, had just won an Olympic gold medal in the women’s triple jump in Paris. (Navy Football/X)
Chreign LaFond is a 6-foot-5, 262-pound defensive end for the Navy Midshipmen football team.
His sister Thea LaFond, however, is bigger ... at least as a star athlete on the global stage.
On Saturday, Navy stopped its football practice so LaFond could get a bit of very big news: Thea LaFond, who represents the tiny Caribbean nation of Dominica, had just won the women’s triple jump. It was Dominica’s first Olympic gold medal.
That news sparked sparked jubilation in Dominica. And in Annapolis.
Thea LaFond leaped 15.02 meters (49 feet, 3½ inches) on her second attempt. Heavy rain came shortly after, and her winning leap stood.
“It’s an understatement to say it’s a really big deal,” Thea LaFond said after her victory night at Stade de France. “Sometimes you wonder if being from a small country means that you have less accessibility to resources. … But we’ve been really big on (prioritizing) quality and just executing it.”
Thea, 30, left Dominica when she was 5. She and Chreign attended high school in Maryland. Thea went to the University of Maryland.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Thea Lafond, of Dominica, celebrates after winning the women's triple jump final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (Matthias Schrader)