Rojé Stona (born 26 February 1999) is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. He broke the Olympic record to win the gold medal at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, thus becoming the first Jamaican to be Olympic Champion at a throwing event.

Early life

He started his secondary school throwing career at Rusea's High School in Hanover, where he won the Class Two boys discus at the Western Championships in 2014. He then attended St. Jago High School in

Spanish Town Spanish Town (Jamaican Patois: Spain) is the capital and the largest town in the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica, St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica, Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and Briti ...

, Jamaica. He also attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, where in 2022 h
earned his bachelor’s degree
in industrial engineering, and the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Career

Athletics

He won gold in the discus at the 2019 NACAC U23 Championships in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. He won silver in the discus at the 2019 NACAC U23 Championships behind compatriot

Kai Chang Kai Chang (born January 29, 2000) is a Jamaican discus thrower. He won the IAAF 2018 World U20 championships and has stamped his class at numerous international events in his career. Career Chang won the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Associa ...

. He qualified for the final of the discus at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, finishing sixth overall. He was runner-up to

Turner Washington Turner Washington (born February 10, 1999) is an American shot put and discus thrower. He is the son of Olympian Anthony Washington. Career Washington attended Canyon del Oro High School. Washington competes for Arizona State University in both ...

in the discus at the

2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 59th NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 42nd NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at The TRACK a ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

in June 2023. He competed in the men's discus at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and threw 62.57 metres. In April 2024, Stona achieved the qualifying mark for the discus at the 2024 Summer Olympics in finishing second at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational, with a personal best distance of 69.05m. He then won the discus throw at the LA Grand Prix in May 2024 with a throw of 66.93 metres. In July 2024, he was officially selected for the Jamaican team at the

. In the

Paris 2024 Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, Stona clinched the gold medal in the men's discus throw. He set a new personal best and an Olympic record with a throw of 70.0 meters in the 4th round, surpassing silver medalist

Mykolas Alekna Mykolas Alekna (born 28 September 2002) is a Lithuanian athlete who specializes in the discus throw. He is the current men’s world record holder of the event with 75.56 metres (247 ft 10.8 in). At the age of 19, he won the silver medal at the ...

, who had broken his father Virgilijus Alekna's 20-year Olympic record just minutes earlier with a throw of 69.97 meters. This victory was the first Olympic gold medal for Jamaica in a throwing event, and the second Olympic medal overall, after Rajindra Campbell's bronze in the shot put event three days before. It was also Jamaica's only gold medal at the

. He competed in Stockholm at the

2025 BAUHAUS-galan The 2025 BAUHAUS-galan was the 59th edition of the annual outdoor track and field meeting in Stockholm, Sweden. Held on 14 and 15 June 2025 at Stockholm Olympic Stadium, it was the seventh leg of the 2025 Diamond League – the highest level inte ...

event, part of the

2025 Diamond League The 2025 Diamond League is the sixteenth season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by World Athletics. The competition is a revision to the top level athletics series since Diamond League foundation in 2010. Th ...

, in June 2025 placing sixth overall.

NFL

In May 2024, he was invited to rookie minicamps by the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

teams

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

and

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. 6'6" and 270 pounds, he did not play

American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

competitively at college. In December 2024, he was announced as joining the NFL's

International Player Pathway International Player Pathway (IPP) is a program run by the National Football League (NFL) to increase the number of players from outside the United States or Canada in the NFL. The program was formed as part of the NFL's strategy to grow globally ...

scheme.

International competitions

References

External links

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Roje Stona Record ThrowClemson Tigers bioArkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stona, Roje 1999 births Living people Jamaican male discus throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Jamaica Olympic athletes for Jamaica Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)