The County’s annual Thanksgiving parade will honor Olympians Thea LaFond and Aaron Ghebre Owusu as a part of the parade’s festivities on Nov. 16.
Ghebre Owusu represents the African nation of Eritrea, and competed in the men’s 50-meter freestyle swim. The Quince Orchard graduate finished above 23 others with a time of 24.25 seconds. Owusu was just 17 years old when he entered the pool in Paris, the 5th youngest of 74 competitors in his event. Owusu is one of just three Eritreans to ever qualify for a swimming event at the Olympics.
LaFond represents the Caribbean nation of Dominica, and secured the first Olympic medal for her birth nation by taking gold in the women’s triple jump. A graduate of Kennedy High School and the University of Maryland, LaFond jumped a national record of 15.02 meters to take home gold. LaFond also won the country’s first Indoor World Championship title earlier this year in Scotland.
According to the press release, both will be honored at the largest Thanksgiving parade in the Washington metro area. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. In addition to the athletes, the parade will have community floats, marching bands, and members of the county government. You can find out more about the parade here.
Photos courtesy Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on X and American Federation of School Administrators on Facebook.
