Dominica enters the spotlight in the 2020 edition of the Olympic Games, with its female triple jumper, Thea LaFond

According to (OECS Sports) The Commonwealth of Dominica has entered the spotlight in the 2020 edition of the Olympic Games, with female triple jumper Thea LaFond meeting the standards for this year’s showcase. LaFond reset her (OECS) women’s record in February, reaching 14.33 metres at the 2020 University of Albany Winter Classic Competition in New York. That puts Lafond who is also a University of Maryland graduate, in position to return to the Olympics, having previously competed at Rio 2016.
 
For this iteration of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo (24 July to 9 August) the qualification system for athletics has been adjusted by global governing body, World Athletics. Qualification standards have been set, but there will also be a maximum field. In other words, no more than a certain number of athletes will be entered in each event, based on the world rankings at a particular cut-off date.
 
Dominica’s first and only Commonwealth Games medallist also ended up with a 13.92m bronze in triple jump at Gold Coast 2018, she is ranked 21st in the world at the time of writing. A total of 32 athletes will be entered for women’s triple jump.
 
Triple jump featured for Dominica at the country’s first Olympic appearance, Atlanta 1996. But for the most part, participation has been in track events. In what will be the nation’s seventh appearance at the Summer Olympics, LaFond will be aiming to better her disappointing 37th place from 2016. After all, she says her pre-qualifying performance “feels like this is just the beginning.”
   
OECS Qualifiers for Tokyo 2020 (21.2.20) are:
 
·         Thea LaFond, Women’s triple jump – Dominica
·         Anderson Peters, Men’s javelin throw – Grenada
·         Lindon Victor, Men’s decathlon – Grenada
·         Eldred Henry, Men’s shot put – British Virgin Islands
·         Kirani James, Men’s 400m – Grenada
·         Kyron McMaster, Men’s 400m hurdles – British Virgin Islands
 
Lafond’s 7th February mark at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in New York City surpassed the Olympic standard by a centimetre. LaFond, the first woman from the OECS to make the Tokyo 2020 standard, aims to improve further.