The 2024 Olympic video games at the moment are over, and plans are underway for the subsequent Olympics in Los Angeles, California, in 2028. Whereas over 28 million viewers watched right here within the U.S. with billions watching worldwide, I’d wish to pay tribute to medalists from the Caribbean, some who received gold for his or her nations for the very first time.
Although my husband and I are sports activities followers who repeatedly root for Crew USA, I admit we have been elated to see athletes from St. Lucia, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Grenada do their houses proud bringing dwelling gold, silver, and bronze medals. I’ve disregarded Cuba and Jamaica from this group, since they’ve garnered fame, consideration, and medals within the Olympics for many years. I used to be maintaining a tally of social media feedback on the video games, and wasn’t shocked that many posters didn’t even know the place St. Lucia, Grenada, and Dominica (which will get confused with the Dominican Republic) are on the map.
The pleasure in dwelling nations was palpable. Be part of me in assembly three winners who took dwelling the gold.
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One of many greatest upsets within the Monitor and Discipline division of the video games got here from the gold medal win within the girls’s 100 meter last, by Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who defeated America’s Sha’Carri Richardson, who received the silver. Alfred additionally received a silver medal within the girls’s 200 meter last:
I acquired an enormous kick seeing the group in St. Lucia at a watch celebration chanting “Ju-Ju” and responding to her win:
A short Alfred bio from Kirti Sharma for the location Jagran Josh:
Julien Alfred was born on June 10, 2001, in Ciceron, Castries, Saint Lucia. She confronted vital challenges in her formative years, notably dropping her father when she was simply 12 years previous. This occasion profoundly impacted her upbringing and motivated her to excel in athletics.
Alfred started her training at Leon Hess Complete Secondary College in Saint Lucia, attending from 2013 to 2015. She then moved to Jamaica to additional her training at St. Catherine Excessive College from 2015 to 2018. Throughout her time in Jamaica, she developed her sprinting expertise by competing in opposition to boys in her major faculty, which helped her construct resilience and confidence in her athletic skills.
In 2018, she transitioned to the US to attend the College of Texas, the place she pursued a Bachelor’s diploma in Youth & Group Research. At Texas, she stood out as an athlete, breaking information and profitable quite a few accolades in collegiate observe and discipline.
Subsequent up, tiny Dominica, with a present inhabitants of 66,169, additionally took dwelling a gold. Thea LaFond was the proud, first-time gold medalist on the triple soar.
Andrew Dampf wrote for the Related Press on what an enormous deal it actually was:
In March, triple jumper Thea LaFond was the one consultant of her tiny Caribbean nation, Dominica, at world indoors.
She received the gold medal.
Now on the Paris Olympics, LaFond is the one lady from her nation competing in observe and discipline.
Once more, she received gold.
Solely it was greater than gold. It was the very first Olympic medal for Dominica.
“It’s an understatement to say it’s a really big deal,” LaFond mentioned after her victory Saturday evening on the 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 LaFond posed along with her gold medal after she made historical past for the Caribbean island nation of Dominica by profitable gold within the triple soar over the weekend to assert the nation’s first-ever Olympic medal.LaFond was the lady to beat after her second try of 15.02 meters — a world finest this 12 months — and it proved inconceivable to raised, with rain additionally making circumstances extra treacherous.The 30-year-old, who was born in Dominica and emigrated along with her household to the US when she was 5, received the World Indoor Championships title in March.Dominica, an island nation within the Caribbean Sea, is about 47-kms lengthy and 26-kms extensive and has a inhabitants of about 70,000
“Today” showcased the second that her brother, who performs soccer for Navy, acquired the information:
The Related Press highlighted these groundbreaking Caribbean firsts:
Monitor and discipline followers are used to seeing Jamaican athletes on the medal stand on the Olympics. In Paris, different Caribbean nations have launched themselves and their nations to the world.
“It was just our turn, man,” mentioned Thea LaFond, whose gold within the triple soar was the primary Olympic medal for her island, Dominica. “It kind of becomes like truly a family. When we say one Caribbean, one love; one Caribbean, one love.”
Certain, Jamaica has six medals — most of them for its surprising discipline success — however the medals this time have additionally come from St. Lucia, Dominica and Grenada.
And the Caribbean athletes in observe and discipline undoubtedly have a kinship.
Subsequent up on the gold medal podium was Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic, who not solely received however broke an Olympic file. Jennifer Vazquez reported for NBC:
The 27-year-old, the second youngest of six siblings, has no sporting background within the household, in accordance to her official Olympics biography. She grew up enjoying pick-up sports activities in her native Don Gregorio, positioned an hour away from Santo Domingo.
Her athletic skills have been observed when she was 18 and enjoying handball. In response to the Olympics.com, it was at the moment that the nation’s sports activities minister observed her expertise and he or she was recruited to the athletics federation.
Paulino was ultimately provided a month-to-month wage to affix the Dominican Air Power as a observe and discipline athlete, a sport she began to essentially dedicate and focus her time on in 2015.
Though she began out as a 100m and 200m sprinter, she moved to 400m in 2020.
“I began operating barefoot, then wore socks, trainers after which borrowed spikes till I used to be in a position to purchase a pair,” she beforehand instructed Olympics.com.
You’ll be able to search for the medal counts for all of the rivals right here. Congrats to all who competed!
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