Jamaica waited a long time for this moment. Not a sprint. Not a relay. But a 70-meter discus throw that made Olympic history. Then came a 22-meter shot put that added another first for the island. For once, the spotlight wasn’t on the track—it was in the field. The men behind it? Roje Stona and Rajindra Campbell, two proud Jamaican athletes who made the country dream bigger. But just as the celebrations began, the joy faded. Despite rewriting history in Paris, both athletes have now switched allegiance to Turkey. Why? Well, records and medals don’t always pay the bills. But the switch does not end with these two. There’s more to the story…

Fitzroy Dunkley won the silver medal in the Men’s 4×400 m relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He ran the crucial third leg, helping Jamaica finish in 2:58.16, behind the USA. On June 12, 2025, a post went up on his Instagram with the caption, “Turkey isn’t playing around 🇹🇷💰Their Olympic medal payouts are on another level:🥇 $531,638🥈 $313,258🥉 $157,616″. Turkey is offering half a million dollars for winning the gold medal in the Olympics! Who wouldn’t be tempted? Following the June 12 revelation by Olympian Fitzroy Dunkley about Turkey’s massive medal payouts, news of Stona and Campbell’s switch broke, confirming just how persuasive those numbers can be.

Roje Stona and Rajindra Campbell aren’t the only ones who have dropped the bad news on the Jamaican track and field community. Who else did the country of Usain Bolt lose? What is the bad news here?

Well, sources report that Multiple Jamaican and NCAA Triple Jump Champion Jaydon Hibbert is expected to change his allegiance from Jamaica to Turkey in less than twenty days. The last track and field community saw of him in yellow and green colors was at the Paris Olympics, where he competed in the men’s triple jump final. He finished fourth in the final with a 17.61 m jump.

Joining him on this adventure is Olympic silver medalist Wayne Pinnock. Pinnock jumped 8.36 m in the Paris Olympics’ Men’s Long Jump final, earning silver behind Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou, who defended his Olympic title with an 8.48 m leap. For many Jamaican field fans, this comment from a fan saying, “Jamaicans will never forget today” is going to be very true.

Now, the fans have had a varied reaction, but the one thing common in all of them was that none of them saw this move coming. It was unexpected and unforeseen, leaving the track and field fans in a completely shocked state.

The track and Field community left shocked at the decisions

“Oh wow. This is getting out of hand. Big loss for Jamaican fans.” Losing 4 of your top athletes within 24 hours is indeed something getting out of hand. And this is only the beginning of it, who knows how many other athletes will follow in their footsteps to Turkey? The names have come out slowly, and if there are more, they will eventually come out as well. The fans do not like this weight, though. One fan took to X to voice out that, “ oh gosh, how long is the list? just tell us everybody so we can cry one time and move on 😩”. The very athletes they screamed their lungs out cheering last year would be in a different jersey next year. Emotions are definitely high for this fan. 

A surge in emotions is not limited to that fan as well, though the kind of it is different. Some fans have been fueled by the feeling of national pride and are not in favor of this decision made by these track and field stars. One of these fans commented, “Traitors!!!” Another fan, being national but rational, had a suggestion. He wrote, “Whoa! Like I understand it but I still feel like you shouldn’t be allowed to change your allegiance to a country you have zero ties to.” 

Another fan took a trip down memory lane as they mentioned, “Remember when Asafa said he would never want his kids running for Jamaica till things change? Yep, here we are, and some people called him selfish.” Former world record holder Asafa Powell had made it clear back in April 2025 that, “Honestly, guys, if the support system doesn’t change, my kids not running for Jamaica,”.He complained of a lack of proper backing for Jamaican athletes, an issue many local stars have echoed for years, even as the country has dominated global sprinting.

Interestingly, he also claims that back in 2006, early in his career, he was offered millions of US dollars to compete for another country, a deal he turned down out of national pride and hope for a better future with Jamaica. What are your thoughts on this? Should he have? What about the decision made by young track and field stars?