Stona takes the sensational gold by three centimeters
Roje Stona pulls off the thick surprise. With his best throw ever, he claims gold in the discus throw. In the end, he's just a hair ahead of world record holder Mykolas Alekna. The Jamaican's win can also be attributed to a burst NFL dream.
A reggae show in the discus ring: Jamaican Roje Stona sensationally won Olympic gold in the discus throw in Paris. The 25-year-old improved his personal best at the Stade de France by nearly a meter, throwing exactly 70 meters, and narrowly beat the heavily favored competition. Silver went to world record holder Mykolas Alekna, who had hoped to bring discus gold back to his family 20 years after his father Virgilijus won it - but fell short by a mere three centimeters. Bronze went to Australian Matthew Denny (69.31) in a high-class competition.
Germany's discus hope Clemens Prüfer achieved the hoped-for top result. With 67.41 meters, the 26-year-old finished sixth, the same as at the European Championships in Rome. Mika Sosna and Henrik Janssen failed to qualify. The last Olympic medals in the discus throw for Germany were won eight years ago by Christoph Harting and Daniel Jasinski, with Harting winning gold and Jasinski bronze in Rio.
He failed to impress at the NFL rookie camp
This time, the show belonged to Stona, who unexpectedly won gold at his Olympic debut after finishing 19th at the World Championships last year. Stona had almost not competed in Paris, as he had initially wanted to make it as a football pro in the NFL. He attended a rookie camp for the Green Bay Packers in May but failed to impress. Now, he's celebrating a major triumph at the Olympics. "I'll think about what's next," said Stona, who fulfilled a dream with his coup and made it "the best day of my life."
However, Stona sees room for improvement in the public perception of his sport, as too much focus is placed on running events. Michael Johnson's new track and field series, "Grand Slam Track," set to launch in 2025, does not include throwing events. "When you see something like that, it's kind of demotivating," said Stona.
Jamaica, the island of super sprinters, is apparently becoming a throwing powerhouse as well. Stona's countryman Rajindra Campbell won bronze in the shot put. Before Stona, all Olympic discus gold medalists had come from Europe or the US.
After his disappointing experience at the NFL rookie camp, Roje Stona channeled his energy into the discus throw, leading him to an unexpected gold medal win at the Paris Olympics. Despite world record holder Mykolas Alekna's close competition, Stona emerged victorious with a personal best throw of 70 meters, breaking new grounds for Jamaica as the first Caribbean nation to claim discus gold.
