A major setback has hit Olympic gold medal-winning discus thrower Roje Stona, after World Athletics’ Nationality Review Panel rejected his application to change his sporting nationality from Jamaica to Turkiye. According to Stona’s agent Paul Doyle, the 2024 Paris Olympic champion is deeply devastated by the ruling, which has upended his plans to immediately begin competing under the Turkish flag.
Doyle shared that the outcome came as an unanticipated shock, pointing to a recent history of similar nationality change requests being approved for other athletes. Speaking in an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Doyle emphasized that Stona has fully immersed himself in Turkish life and culture, making the rejection particularly puzzling. “Athletes in the past have been approved, and now all of a sudden, these ones aren’t,” Doyle said. “I can speak for Roje because he’s the only one that I represent they’ve really, truly embraced Turkish culture, so to me it doesn’t make sense.”
The panel’s decision blocks the immediate eligibility Stona and his team had pushed for, throwing a wrench into the athlete’s carefully laid plans for a smooth transition to his new sporting affiliation. While Stona has worked to maintain his composure amid the disappointment, Doyle confirmed that the result has been a heavy blow. “He’s not happy, obviously, but he understands that it’s a process,” Doyle explained. “Hopefully, we can get through this and it’ll work out as favourably as possible for him. The hope was that he would be eligible right away. That’s obviously not going to be the case now, but he’s pretty devastated.”
Stona is far from alone in facing this outcome: he is one of 11 athletes whose nationality switch applications were turned down by the review panel. Fellow Jamaican track and field athletes Jaydon Hibbert, Rajindra Campbell and Wayne Pinnock are also on the rejected list, alongside a cohort of Kenyan runners including marathon star Brigid Kosgei, Catherine Relin (Selin Can) Amanang’ole, Brian Kibor, Ronald Kwemoi and Nelvin (Can) Jepkemboi. Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili and Russian athlete Sophia Yakushina round out the group of rejected applicants.
Stona’s team has no intention of accepting the ruling without a fight. Doyle confirmed that a formal appeal is already being prepared, and the camp is willing to escalate the challenge to the highest governing levels to seek a reversal. “We’re going to appeal it and see where it can go,” Doyle said. “We’re prepared to take it to the highest level.”
Even amid the frustration and disappointment, Doyle noted that Stona remains committed to continuing his training and preparation, as he waits for the appeal process to move forward.