LaFond emigrated from Dominica to the United States as a young child.[1][2] During her childhood, she was a dancer (ballerina) where she learned to accept criticism and focus on technical changes to form and movement.[3] She is a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, where she later returned to be a special education teacher.[4][5]
She won her country's first-ever Olympic medal when she took gold at the Paris Games, setting a new national record record of 15.02 metres in the process.[13][14][15] Thereafter, she was rewarded by the government of Dominica with $400,000, appointment as a national sports ambassador, a diplomatic passport, as well as a 7,459-square-foot (693.0 m2) parcel of land in the village of Warner, Saint Paul Parish. A track and field facility would also be built and named in her honour, and she would be granted the Dominica Award of Honour during independence day celebrations in early November.[16]
Personal life
LaFond is married to Aaron Gadson, who is also her coach.[17] They live in Maryland. She is Catholic.[18]
LaFond has a brother, Chreign, who plays defensive end for the Navy Midshipmen.[19]
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