Dominica secures first Olympic Gold medal: Will the country take track development seriously now?

Dominica's first and only Olympic gold medalist to date, Thea Lafond-Gadson, is hopeful her historic achievement at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, will light a fire under the feet of the powers that be to develop a synthetic track facility in Dominica.

The thirty-year-old Dominican, born in the Nature Isle and who migrated to Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, at a young age, made history on Saturday, August 3rd, 2024, when she jumped a new national record of 15.02 meters, allowing her to take home the gold ahead of Jamaica and the USA.

Dominicans worldwide beamed with pride during the medal presentation ceremony as the unmistakable national flag rose, simultaneous with the National Anthem ringing clear across the stadium and TV sets.

Speaking to international media shortly after her win, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Lafond-Gadson expressed optimism that things will happen to develop a more serious track culture in Dominica.

"To be clear, Dominica actually does have an entire track blueprint that has been set for years," the Olympian revealed. "There is actually a programme that brings facilities to countries in need of said facilities. And so, the biggest issue has been getting the land allocation for this track. Literally give us the land and there will be a track."

Lafond-Gadson sincerely believes Dominican youth should be able to realize their full potential on the track while on the island.

"What I am really hoping is this medal sort of lights a fire under all government officials to get that done. I want a place where the next generation doesn't necessarily have to go overseas to start budding their greatness. I want it to be a thing where the kids can just go and hang on the track and race each other, just for the fun of it. That genuine, innocent intrigue in the sport is really needed." Recounting the moments before her astounding jump into the history books, Lafond-Gadson shared two key factors that helped frame her mindset ahead of her gold medal-winning feat.

"One, I did not really like how my hips felt on the first jump, and I also felt slow. So, the second jump, I was like, 'Hey, just make it faster, get a good projection off the board'," she recalled.

However, Lafond-Gadson owes the game changer to the words of her spouse, who is also her trainer.

"One of the biggest influences and motivations was my coach and husband; he came to me and said, 'listen, there is torrential downpour coming in ten minutes, you have to do something big now because the weather is not going to be on your side' and I said 'ok' that was the response. And I knew that despite how that first jump felt, despite how qualifiers even felt, we had to put it together right then and there, and that honestly was the best advice."

Just hours into her euphoria, Dominica's Olympic gold medalist believed the people of Dominica were celebrating the magnitude of her achievement and what it meant for the country.

"Considering how my phone is going off right now, I feel it is an understatement to say it is a really big deal. Here [in Paris], I am the only female representing anything in athletics for my country, and we are leading with gold. Sometimes, you wonder if being from a small country means you have less access to resources, the way European nations may. But, we have been really big on having quality over quantity and just executing."

As a sign of her humility and down-to-earth character, Thea acknowledged the wealth of support from the Dominican population during her journey to this point.

"I hope my country is proud. And it is a big deal to them. They deserve to celebrate; they have been an amazing support throughout the year."

Thea had also won gold at the World Indoor Championships, women's triple jump, earlier this year.