It is clear that countries in the Eastern Caribbean want nothing short of excellence, with three countries now holding gold medals as their first wins in the Olympic games.

On Saturday, Dominica’s Thea Lafond-Gadson won her island’s first-ever gold medal at the Paris Olympics, breaking the national triple jump record with an impressive leap of 15.02 meters. This jump is the best in the world for 2024.

Thea, who previously set a national record at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow with a jump of 15.01 meters, competed in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. In 2016, she finished last in her event and apologized to her supporters, but in 2020, she improved significantly, finishing fifth with a jump of 14.62 meters. After her gold medal win, Thea expressed her gratitude, saying, “My people have been behind me since I was 16 doing this, and to finally bring home a gold for them is so special.”

St. Lucia also celebrated its first Olympic gold medal, thanks to Julien Alfred’s victory in the Women’s 100-meter final. The 23-year-old sprinter finished ahead of American Sha’Carri Richardson with a time of 10.84 seconds.

Grenada’s Lindon Victor added to the region’s success by winning a bronze medal in the decathlon. This is not Grenada’s first Olympic medal; in 2012, Kirani James won gold in the men’s 400 meters with a national record of 43.94 seconds. Although Kirani James was disqualified for a lane infringement in his 2023 attempt at another medal, his track record remains impressive. Since 2011, he has reached the finals in nine out of ten World Athletics Championships and Summer Olympics, winning gold (2012), silver (2016), and bronze (2021) in the Olympics, and gold (2011), bronze (2015), and silver (2022) at the World Athletic Championships.

A notable mention goes to Fred Richard, who secured a bronze medal in men’s gymnastics for the United States. Born to a Haitian father and a Dominican mother, Fred’s mother proudly wore a Dominican flag headpiece during an interview at the Olympics