![See the emotional moment Navy football player learned his sister won an Olympic gold.](https://media.nbcchicago.com/2024/08/Thea-Lafond-brother-Paris-Olympics-2024.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=320%2C180)
Olympian Thea LaFond has one proud brother and the support of a whole football team.
The 30-year-old old track and field star won Dominica's first Olympic medal — and a gold, at that — in the triple jump on Aug. 3.
Her brother, Navy defensive end Chreign LaFond, heard the good news during a football practice.
In a video shared by Navy Football, a coach calls Chreign LaFond out at practice in front of the whole squad.
"Hey, your sister just won a gold medal," the coach says.
After hearing of his sister's victory, Chreign LaFond seems to stumble as he gives one of the coaches a hug. Almost immediately, the rest of the team cheers and huddles around Chreign LaFond in excitement.
Amid the clapping and jumping, players can be heard shouting, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
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“The moment when you find out your sister won a gold medal at the Olympics!” Navy Football captioned the video. “Congratulations Thea LaFond!"
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The newly-minted gold medalist was born in Dominica, a Caribbean island of about 72,000 people. There are no track and field facilities on the island, per the Washington Post.
Thea LaFond immigrated to the United States at 5, living in New Jersey then Maryland, per her Olympics bio. The runner became a track and field star in high school, then competed at the University of Maryland.
At Maryland, Thea LaFond placed among the top ten in both women's high jump and triple jump at NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2013, the school shared.
That same year, she was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Mid-Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year. During her senior year in 2015, she was named Big Ten's Field Athlete of the Year.
The Paris Games marked Thea LaFond's third Olympics representing Dominica. She previously competed at the Tokyo and Rio Games. In March, she won the triple jump title at the World Indoor Championships.
After her historic win, Thea LaFond told the Washington Post her ties to the island, which she visited often growing up, remained strong.
"I was never allowed to ever forget where I came from," she said.
Thea LaFond knows her medal will be celebrated.
“Oh, God, my country is never going to stop partying, are they?” Thea LaFond told the Washington Post. “And it’s a Saturday? Just cancel work on Monday, guys.”
“They deserve this as much as I do,” LaFond said. “And I hope they are partying enough for the both of us. I don’t know what I’ve done in life to deserve this. I don’t know how everything worked out — I’m not going to say I don’t know. We worked for this.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from Today: