It has been a special moment at the Olympic Games for three countries over the last 24 hours as Dominica, Saint Lucia and Cape Verde all won their first ever Olympic medal. Let’s take a look at the three Olympians who made history for their respective nations.
Daniel Varela de Pina
Varela de Pina became the first ever medalist in the county of Cape Verde on Sunday. He accomplished the feat by winning the bronze medal in the men’s 51 kilogram division. Varela de Pina was in his semifinal bout on Sunday, but lost 5-0 to Hasanboy Dusmatov of Kazakhstan. Varela de Pina beat Amit Panghal of India 4-1 in his first round bout, and then beat Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia 5-0 in the second round to guarantee an Olympic medal. Junior Alcantara of the Dominican Republic won the other bronze medal, while Dusmatov will fight Billal Bennama of France for Olympic gold.
Thea Lafond
In the women’s triple jump on Saturday, Thea LaFond became not only Dominica’s first ever Olympic gold medalist, but Dominica’s first ever Olympic medalist as well. She won the triple jump with a jump of 15.02 metres. Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica won the silver medal with 14.87 metres. Jasmine Moore of the United States won the bronze medal with a jump of 14.67 metres. LaFond earned a medal by 0.38 metres. Lindagmis Povea of Cuba finished in fourth place with a jump of 14.64 metres.
Julien Alfred
On Saturday in the women’s 100 metres, Julien Alfred made Olympic history by becoming the very first ever Olympic medalist from Saint Lucia. Alfred made sports headlines as she stunned the world with an Olympic gold medal. Alfred had a winning time of 10.72 seconds to shock the American favourite, Sha’Carri Richardson, who posted a time of 10.87 seconds. Melissa Jefferson of the United States won bronze with a time of 10.92 seconds. Alfred reached the podium by 0.24 seconds over Daryll Nelta of Great Britain, who had a fourth place time of 10.96 seconds.
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