TWO ATHLETES TO REPRESENT DOMINICA AT THE TOKY0 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES

The Dominica Olympic Committee can confirm that the Commonwealth of Dominica will be represented at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by two athletes: one male and one female. The Games which were initially expected to be held in July-August 2020 were postponed by one year due to the many issues and challenges arising from the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic that continues to affect countries globally to this day. Notwithstanding the adversities, Dominican athletes both locally and abroad were able to recommence training throughout 2020 to 2021.

Dominica will compete in the sport of Athletics, with 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Ms. Thea Lafond who hails from the community of Mahaut and is based in the USA securing qualification in the discipline of Triple Jump with a personal best of 14.33 meters in February 2020. Even though already qualified and despite the uncertainties surrounding the Games, Ms. Lafond continued to persevere and achieved another personal best this year with a distance of 14.54m. Ms. Lafond is currently ranked number 12 in the world among her fellow Triple Jump competitors and will be the first female Dominican athlete to compete in two consecutive Olympic Games. Ms. Lafond will be joined by Mr. Dennick Luke who hails from Portsmouth and is currently completing his tertiary education in Jamaica. Mr. Luke secured a universality placement in the discipline of 800m. Despite not achieving the qualification mark, the International Olympic Committee Games regulations, which support the development of participation of all National Olympic Committee's, allows for the placement of at least one Athletics athlete in each gender if none are able to achieve the qualification mark which is referred to as the Universality Placement. After a lengthy process conducted by the Dominica Olympic Committee and the Dominica Amateur Athletics Association, guided by the rules of the World Athletics organisation, Mr. Luke was determined the most suitably qualified candidate for the Universality placement given his ranking in the 800m by the World Athletics body, his vastly improved performance over the past 12 months which saw him not only achieve a personal best but also consistently maintain this mark, along with other factors. Mr. Luke will be the country's first 800m runner competing at the Olympic Games since 1996.

The Dominica team will be led by Chef de Mission and Covid Liaison Officer Mr. Woody Lawrence, accompanied by: Coach Aaron Gadson; Press Attaché, Garvin Richards; and Physiotherapist, Kala Flagg. Mr. Billy Doctrove, President of the Dominica Olympic Committee and Mr. Brendan Williams, the current Athlete Representative and Acting Secretary general at the Olympic Games, will complete the team.

The Dominica Olympic Committee would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the two aforementioned athletes and extend our full support to them in Tokyo 2020. Despite the restrictions that may be in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic that may prohibit the loud, verbal support we would like to give at the Athletics arena, we would like to assure Thea and Dennick that not only the Dominica Olympic Committee but the entire country, will be supporting you as you step onto the biggest Athletics stage. The Dominica Olympic Committee would also like to thank Panam Sports for making it possible for the athletes and coach to attend a Pre-games training camp to assist in acclimatization and further bolster their final preparations.

The Olympic Games will commence with an Opening Ceremony on July 23 and officially end on August 8th 2021. Both athletes are expected to compete in the first round of their events on July 31st and more details will be provided in due course as to how the general public can view their performances.