As the Navy football players went through practice Wednesday evening, they might not have noticed the woman sitting on a bench just behind the goalposts. After practice concluded and the entire team took a knee to listen to coach Brian Newberry, that woman used crutches to hobble over to the team huddle. At first, the players did not see who it was because she was standing behind Newberry.
Then Newberry announced to the players that they were going to be a “a little star struck” and stepped aside to reveal Olympic gold medalist Thea LaFond. Suddenly, the entire team erupted into a raucous celebration. Representing her home country of Dominica, LaFond won the triple jump at the Paris Olympics last month, jumping 15.
02 meters (49 1⁄4 feet). LaFond competed collegiately at the University of Maryland. Thea’s brother is Navy junior defensive end Chreign LaFond, who is currently second on the depth chart.
After Newberry introduced Thea to the Navy football team on Wednesday, Chreign immediately got up and gave his sister a huge hug, much to the delight of his teammates. “It was awesome having Thea talk to our team. It was one of the most impactful messages I’ve ever heard given to a team from the outside,” Newberry said.
“I couldn’t have scripted what she said any better. It was a poignant message that paralleled perfectly with the things we talk about and try to instill in our players. “The beautiful thing is that it came from an Olympic champion and not from o.