On August 7 2024, Roje Stona stepped up with a massive 70m throw. Almost effortlessly, he went on to make history by breaking the Olympic record and winning Jamaica’s first gold in the discus throw. Rajindra Campbell set the tone a few days earlier with a bronze in the shot put before Stona followed. Less than a year later, both medalists were in the news over an alleged switch of nationality. Despite their move being denied, a former Olympic medalist has given the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) a reality check.

Ex-Jamaican sprinter Warren Weir wasn’t shocked by Stona, Campbell, and the three other Jamaicans who decided to switch their allegiance to Turkiye. The 2012 bronze medalist believed that what surprised fans and the JAAA more was that the people who left were winners, not just contenders. Not only that, but the retired Jamaican sprint star also admitted that the reason they left makes sense.

“So, one of the main things we have to look at is that these guys were in an event that is not so lucrative, you know?” Weir told Leighton Levy on YouTube. “There’s not a lot of financial backing on their side.”

He went on to add, “And then at the end of the day, now there’s a small market for corporate sponsors. The market is not that big for corporate sponsors. If we look at it, even our track athletes on the track side of it, who are medalists, gold medalists, they don’t have a corporate sponsor.”

“So I guess they are looking out for their financial interest, and people don’t realize that it’s a business. But the only thing with our business is that it’s mainly surrounded by national representatives in terms of national leagues.”

All this stems from Stona, Campbell, Wayne Pinnock, Jaydon Hibbert, and seven others opting to switch their allegiance to Turkiye. Although usually allowed, World Athletics denied the switch, arguing that the eleven athletes were only doing it for financial reasons. Reports indicated that the Turkish athletics federation gave them $500,000 to switch and promised a far more lucrative paycheck.

For the Jamaican field athletes, it marked a welcome change. They’ve been reportedly sidelined by the JAAA for years. That was in evidence when Danniel Thomas-Dodd went on an emotional rant. In it, she revealed that the JAAA’s focus is on track rather than field and that it neglects athletes. That is something Weir believes as well, even feeling bad for Favour Ofili.

The Nigerian athlete has lost out on not one but two potential Olympic medals because of negligence from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria. “But at the end of the day, I think you have to look at, okay, well, why are so many athletes leaving?” Weir explained. “Look at the Nigerian girl (Ofili). To send her back to Nigeria is like sending her back to her abuser.”

He added that while JAAA hasn’t taken similar action, it does have priorities. That’s because there is an active tier system within Jamaican athletics that depends on an athlete’s performance and other factors. Thus, the athlete is treated and paid accordingly, which doesn’t help their case in the current system.

It has seen several athletes, aside from Thomas-Dodd, hit out at the JAAA, including Warren Weir himself. “I’m probably one of the biggest activists in terms of the Jamaican J3A treating athletes how they are supposed to be treated,” Weir revealed. “Like, I’ve been to many games and see family, friends, and athletes’ parents can’t get in at the village, can’t get a ticket.”

“So I think that’s where the frustration came from, them just hearing these horror stories and just wanting to get out before they actually hit, hit their peak. I think that’s what it actually is, you know? I think before they, them peak, they want to get out because they’re seeing what it has done to many a stars, even as bigger than them.”

However, at the moment, Roje Stona and the other ten athletes hoping to switch their allegiance to Turkiye are on hold. That is, after World Athletics put a stop to things by denying their transfer request from the JAAA.

World Athletics denies Roje Stona’s request to switch allegiance

Despite winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, Roje Stona switched his allegiance from Jamaica to Turkiye less than a year later. It marked a stunning decision, one that was followed by not one or two, but ten other athletes. That includes four other JAAA stars, Nigerian star Favour Ofili, Russia’s Sophia Yakushina, and several others.

However, while reports indicated that their decision to do so was based on financial reasons, Onder Ozbilen, a key consultant for the Turkish Sports Ministry, denied that. Instead, he revealed that Turkiye had rejected over thirty athletes because their goal was financial. Yet despite that, World Athletics denied the group the chance to switch allegiance.

“The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel has today refused the applications of 11 athletes seeking to transfer their allegiance to Türkiye,” reads the statement. “In its decisions, the panel considered that approval of these applications would impinge upon and compromise the imperatives underlying the World Athletics eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations.”

They can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), although no appeal has been filed yet. However, the statement indicated that World Athletics believed Turkiye was trying to buy medals and thus denied them.

“The panel found that the applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Türkiye government acting through a wholly‑owned and financed government club, to attract overseas athletes through lucrative contracts, to facilitate transfers of allegiance and enable those athletes to represent Türkiye at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”

That was after reports indicated that the European nations were paying the athletes a significant sum of money. Ozbilen confirmed that a select few would receive “$300,000 over 30 months”. However, that was only to compensate for them sitting out the required three-year waiting period before they could compete under a new flag.

Yet that didn’t seem to satiate the World Athletics, leaving things up in the air for now. For Roje Stona, it will be an anxious wait as the clock ticks towards the 2028 Olympics.