She Finished Last. Then Won Olympic Gold. Now She’s Inspiring Alexandria Girls.

ALEXANDRIA, VA—When Olympic triple-jump champion Thea LaFond-Gadson walked into George Washington Middle School on Oct. 22, she did not bring the students a story of effortless success. She brought them the truth about finishing last—and choosing to keep going.

LaFond-Gadson met with members of the school’s Girls on the Run team, an after-school program that combines physical activity with lessons intended to build confidence, healthy relationships and emotional well-being. Alexandria City Public Schools reported on the visit Oct. 30.

Born in Roseau, the capital of the Caribbean island nation of Dominica, LaFond-Gadson moved to the United States with her family when she was six. They eventually settled in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she attended John F. Kennedy High School before competing for the University of Maryland. Her path from a Maryland school athlete to an Olympic champion gives the Alexandria visit another close-to-home connection, according to World Athletics and the University of Maryland.

Her event, the women’s triple jump, involves three consecutive movements—a hop, a step and a jump—before landing in a sandpit. At the Paris Olympics on August 3, 2024, she leapt 15.02 meters (about 49 feet, 3.4 inches), a national record that earned Dominica its first Olympic medal in any sport.

Her Olympic journey gave the girls a striking example of persistence. A hamstring injury affected LaFond-Gadson shortly before the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she finished 37th and last in qualifying, according to World Athletics. She later reached the Olympic final in Tokyo and kept improving.

Eight years after Rio, LaFond-Gadson produced a national-record jump of 15.02 meters in the second round of the women’s triple-jump final at the Paris Olympics. The performance won gold and delivered the first Olympic medal of any kind for her home nation of Dominica.

That journey—from an injured athlete at the bottom of the results to an Olympic champion—was the heart of her message in Alexandria.

Kendia Thomas, a George Washington teacher and the school’s Girls on the Run site liaison, said students learned that success does not always follow a straight line and that difficulty can become an opportunity to grow.

“LaFond-Gadson’s story emphasized the importance of persevering through setbacks, remaining open to new opportunities and combining hard work with smart, intentional effort,” Thomas said in the ACPS account of the visit.

LaFond-Gadson also told the group that she is a close friend of Alexandria City Public Schools graduate Noah Lyles, the Olympic 100-meter champion. The connection gave students another reminder that world-class athletes can have ties close to home.

The visit arrived while the George Washington runners were preparing for a finish line of their own. The school’s fall Girls on the Run season began in late September and continues through November, culminating in a celebratory 5K.

The regional event is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 22, at Grace Hopper Murray Memorial Park in Pentagon City. The 8:30 a.m. 5K is noncompetitive and untimed. Program participants are automatically registered, while family members and community runners may register separately as space permits.

Girls on the Run says the season-ending event is designed to give participants of all abilities a tangible sense of accomplishment. Every program participant receives a medal—not for beating everyone else, but for reaching the finish line.

For the Alexandria students who heard LaFond-Gadson speak, that finish line now comes with an Olympic example behind it: Where someone begins does not decide where she can finish.