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SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) 鈥� Sometimes, all it takes is one athlete.

In March, triple jumper Thea LaFond was the only representative of her tiny Caribbean nation, Dominica, at world indoors.

She won the gold medal.

Now at the , LaFond is the only woman from her country competing in track and field.

Again, she won gold.

Only it was more than gold. It was the very first Olympic medal for Dominica.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an understatement to say it鈥檚 a really big deal,鈥� LaFond said after her victory . 鈥淪ometimes you wonder if being from a small country means that you have less accessibility to resources. 鈥� But we鈥檝e been really big on (prioritizing) quality and just executing it.鈥�

LaFond left Dominica for the United States when she was 5 and now lives in Maryland. But she鈥檚 still ambassador for her birth nation.

鈥淢y country鈥檚 name is Dominica (dah-min-EE-ka). We鈥檙e not Dominican Republic, so it鈥檚 pronounced differently,鈥� LaFond said. 鈥淲e are about roughly 70,000 people. Not 7 million. Not 70 million. Seventy thousand. And it is a gorgeous, gorgeous gem in the Caribbean near to Martinique and Guadeloupe. 鈥� Our neighbors also include St. Lucia, Barbados and, further south, Trinidad and Tobago. Our primary language is English. And now they have a gold medal.鈥�

Dominica wasn鈥檛 the only Caribbean island to earn its first Olympic medal on Saturday. .

In 2017, 90% of the homes on Dominica were damaged by Hurricane Maria and 31 people died.

There are virtually no facilities for track and field on the island. Plans to build a track have been stalled for years, LaFond said.

鈥淭he biggest issue has been getting the land allocation for this track. Give us the land and there will be a track,鈥� LaFond said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really hoping this medal kind of lights a fire under all government officials to get that done. I want a place where the next generation doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to go overseas.鈥�

After her move to the U.S., LaFond developed into a classically trained dancer. She gave up dance at 13 when her family couldn鈥檛 afford lessons anymore and discovered track and field at John F. Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and went on to compete at the University of Maryland.

When she made her Olympic debut in 2016, she was introduced to Aaron Gadson, who became her coach and then her husband. Gadson鈥檚 first big advice for LaFond involved a big change to her jumping technique.

LaFond had leaped off her right leg since she was a teenager. Gadson thought she was stronger jumping off her left leg, though, so they made the change.

鈥淚t鈥檚 basically teaching your body how to jump again,鈥� LaFond said. 鈥淭here were some very frustrating days.鈥�

Gadson had some more invaluable advice in Paris after LaFond leaped 14.32 meters on her first jump: 鈥淗e came to me and he said, 鈥橪isten, there is torrential downpour coming in 20 minutes. You have to do something big now because the weather is not going to be on your side.’鈥�

LaFond leaped 15.02 on her second attempt, which was the winning jump. As Gadson predicted, the storm then came and nobody else could come close in the wet conditions.

鈥淲e had to put it together right then and there,鈥� LaFond said.

Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica took silver at 14.87 and Jasmine Moore of the U.S. got bronze at 14.67.

Missing from the competition was world-record holder and defending Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela, who was out with an Achilles tendon injury.

Besides celebrations on Dominica, LaFond鈥檚 victory sparked jubilation at a Navy football preseason practice session when the news was communicated to Chreign LaFond, Thea鈥檚 younger brother and a junior defensive end with the Midshipmen.

Navy shared on social media a .

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