Elliott Denman, our most enduring senior author, writes this, his third column on the Paris Olympics, on Thea LaFond and her great, completely happy nation of Domenica!
(A) NEW JERSEY TRACK ATHLETE
AND (B) OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST
REMIND THE WORLD:
IT’S DOMINICA, NOT THE DOMINICAN REPUBIC.
BY ELLIOTT DENMAN
Maria Paul is my clubmate.
She’s the tall, always-smiling satisfaction and pleasure of the Shore AC Masters group, a state champion on the observe, and occasional shot putter, too.
So when Maria’s smiling over the most recent spherical of Olympic
occasions, I’m smiling, too.
Monday’s dialog went this manner:
Mentioned Maria: “They’re at all times asking me, ‘why don’t I discuss Spanish?’
“So I ask them again, ‘why ought to I?’
“And so they say, ‘however I assumed everyone from the Dominican
Republic spoke Spanish.’
“And I inform them I’m from Dominica, not the Dominican Republic, and so they communicate English in Dominica.
“And so they say, ‘are you telling me they’re totally different locations?’
“And I inform them ‘yes-yes-yes, they definitely are totally different locations, very totally different.’
“And so they say, ‘effectively I by no means knew.’ “
My buddy Maria should enlighten the world much more from right here on out.
Another of the Olympic Video games’ most enduring values is that this: There’s nothing higher than an Olympic gold medal to show a geography lesson.
And triple jumper Thea LaFond, representing Dominica, turned herself right into a world-class instructor at Stade de France final Saturday evening.
By triple-bounding meters 15.02 meters/49 toes, 3 ½ inches, the 30- year-old LaFond, not solely inscribed her identify within the golden record of tremendous Olympic achievers, however put the identify of her dwelling island-nation into these archives ceaselessly and ever, too.
“Oh, I’m certain there might be a giant parade for her when she will get again dwelling,” mentioned my teammate Maria.
“Folks on Dominica at all times like parades.
“Any time they’ve a cheerful event, they’ve a parade.”
Truly, Maria wasn’t born on Dominica. She first noticed the sunshine of day in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. She then spent lots of her growing-up days in Dominica, earlier than coming to the U.S., which doesn’t make her any much less of a Dominica ambassador.
Thea LaFond had some related travels.
She got here to the U.S. as a child to construct a greater life, too.
The LaFonds settled into Maryland and she or he attended John F. Kennedy Excessive College in Silver Spring, simply exterior Washington, DC, after which the College of Maryland in Faculty Park.
She’d been a promising younger dancer till classes turned too expensive.
However all that classical footwork would repay – big-big time – as soon as she found observe and discipline – and the horizontal leaping arts.
Underneath the teaching tutelage of Aaron Goodson – who’s now her husband – she improved by leaps and bounds, however incrementally.
She’d been a star collegian for the Maryland Terps and made her debut on the worldwide stage on the 2016 Rio Olympics.
She didn’t make it out of the Rio qualifying rounds, however upped to twelfth on the 2021 Tokyo Video games. And when she hopped-stepped-jumped to the gold medal on the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, it was clear she was prepared for a lot greater issues in Paris.
She spanned 14.32/46-11 ¾ within the opening spherical of the finals and improved to fifteen.02 second time down the runway.
With heavy rains within the offing, Gadson, close by within the stands, instructed her, “it’s important to do one thing huge now.”
It went down that means precisely.
The 15.02 would stand because the gold medal mark.
And so there was concurrently pleasure in Roseau, her dwelling city in Dominica; Faculty Park, dwelling of the Terps,
and Lengthy Department, NJ, Maria’s hometown.
The U. of Maryland observe program – underfunded in comparison with its Large 10 rivals – as soon as needed to be rescued by an alumni attraction.
There coulda-woulda-shoulda have been huge Olympic information for Terp observe 44 years in the past – till then-President Jimmy Carter’s boycott edict saved Renaldo Nehemiah, the world record-breaking 110 excessive hurdler, out of the Moscow Video games.
However Marylanders’ Olympic observe ties proceed.
Terp head coach Andrew Valmon, maybe the best 4×400 relay leadoff man in observe historical past, collected gold medals within the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Video games. And in 2012, at London, Valmon made extra historical past as the primary gold medalist to return to the Video games as head coach of the USA males’s group.
Again in New Jersey, ambassador/instructor Maria was being referred to as up for extra geography classes:
“Dominica is a really small place within the Caribbean. We don’t even have a global airport. They’ve been speaking about constructing one since I used to be a child and so they nonetheless haven’t performed it.
“I wish to inform you, although, it’s an attractive place. In order that they name it ‘The Nature Island.’
“After this gold medal, I believe much more individuals will discover out about it, and wish to go to.”
Dominica lacks a correct observe, too.
As the brand new Olympic champion put it, “I’m actually hoping this medal lights a hearth beneath all the federal government officers to get that performed.”
And someday quickly.
Possibly, simply possibly.
