Meet Rojé Stona, an Olympic track and field champion with dreams of playing in the NFL
By Martynas Ruseckas, CNN
(CNN) — Track and field will never fail to surprise its fans: a sport full of tiny details, where the smallest of margins separates moments of glory from those of agony and heartache.
Jamaican discus thrower Rojé Stona learned this the hard way.
When he approached the discus circle before his fourth attempt during the men’s final at the Paris Olympics, he didn’t expect that three centimeters (roughly 1.2 inches) would cause a pleasant dilemma for his next career move.
Stona – who finished 19th in the 2023 World Athletics Championships and was ranked 12th before competing in the French capital – etched his name into the history books, becoming the first Jamaican to win gold in a throwing event. His 70-meter effort broke the Olympic record set minutes prior by Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna, a heavy favorite going into the Games.
“Winning was something I’ve been thinking about, but to be in the moment, it felt different,” the Jamaican told CNN Sport, reflecting on his victorious night in the Stade de France.
“It was definitely great because I created a lot of history, and I learned a lot afterwards that I’ve done more than what I thought.”
Now, the 25-year-old Stona is now intrigued by a switch to a completely different sport having participated in rookie training camps with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
He doesn’t have much experience in football – only putting on a helmet for the first time in his debut training session – but would be willing to risk his promising athletics career for a spot on an NFL team’s roster.
“If there’s like a 99 percent chance that I’ll make a team, then, obviously, I’ll go for it, but if it’s like one or two, though, I got to be realistic,” he said.
Inspired by legends
Stona was only nine when compatriot Usain Bolt won his first Olympic gold medal in Beijing 2008. Despite soccer being his first love, seeing the greatest sprinter of all time win at the Olympics was a big driver in pursuing a career in track and field.
After trying many of the sports in athletics, he settled on his future discipline in high school.
“I yanked it, it just dropped right out of 20 meters,” Stona recalled the first moment he picked up a discus.
After moving through the ranks and representing the Caribbean nation in youth competitions, Stona moved to the US to study at Clemson and later Arkansas.
In Fayetteville, he met Ryan Crouser – a three-time Olympic gold medalist and an Olympic record holder in shot put – who joined the Razorbacks’ athletics staff in 2019 as a volunteer.
Mentorship from “one of the best that have ever done it” throughout the last year of his collegiate eligibility filled Stona with confidence; he watched and soaked in Crouser’s knowledge while trying to replicate his success.
The journey to glory
The road to the Olympics started with a statement performance for Stona, a 69-meter throw in April during the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational meet to guarantee the Jamaican a spot in Paris.
Stona had ambitious goals in Paris, aiming to “at least finish top three.” He didn’t want to spend another summer wondering ‘what if?’
When competition started, it seemed like everything was going according to a pre-written script: Alekna broke his father Virgilijus’ Olympic record which had stood since 2004, and it looked like the Lithuanian was on track for gold.
But Stona had other plans: his fourth attempt on the night sailed 70 meters, breaking the Olympic record set minutes earlier and causing one of the biggest upsets of the Games.
“When Mykolas broke the record, I was like, ‘Alright, I could expect that.’ I gave him my respect because we are throwers; I used to watch Alekna’s dad when I just started discus,” he said.
“From the way that I held the discus, the angle of where I caught the discus in my power position, the speed of my right arm coming around, that’s something I’ve been aiming for, and I’m just blessed that it came at the right moment,” Stona said of his moment in the spotlight.
“Everybody is unique in their own way, and that throw for me was one of the best throws ever.”
Stona had practiced celebrations during his time in the Olympic Village out of boredom, and now they came out in full force. He did both Yusuf Dikeç’s casual and nonchalant shooting pose that went viral and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham’s iconic pose to celebrate his moment of glory.
‘Learning a new language’
During his preparation for the biggest moment of his career, Stona went on a short break from discus training to take part in two NFL rookie camps with the Packers and the Saints during the summer.
He instantly fell in love with football after being exposed to the game while studying at Clemson, and was one of the few track and field college athletes invited to show what he’s capable of in a sport he has never played before.
Stona was described by veteran NFL analyst Lance Zierlein as “a track standout with an NFL body type and traits … who possesses explosive hips and above-average core strength to pair with very long arms and huge hands.” His invite to the camps, therefore, was no surprise.
Trying out as a defensive end and tight end, Stona described his first camp in Green Bay as “a different world” and “like learning a new language” as he had to rapidly change the mindset from a fan to a student of the game.
“The coaches are not going to be like, ‘Oh, he’s new to football, let’s break it down for him,’” he said. “That’s why they are trying to test every rookie because I’m just like one of the rookies, I’m a trial guy, so they’re not making it easy.
“I watched the guys that go in front of me and try to make sure that I do similar or mimic what they’ve done and be coachable.”
While the current NFL season is underway, it’s looking likely that Stona won’t get picked up by any team mid-season – he said that he wants to prioritize rest and recovery after a long athletics season – but he admitted he feels interested to see what he can do wearing a helmet and shoulder pads.
“Everywhere I go, people don’t ask, ‘Hey, you’re a discus thrower?’ No, people don’t ask that!” said Stona. “Especially being around in the States, they ask, ‘Do you play football?’
“As soon as I get advice from agents and coaches, that will put me in a better position to make a very important decision or just be more decisive if it’s worth it or not.
“If that part leads me there, then I’m going to give it my all because it’s kind of now or never. I’m curious as to what I can do on the field, and if I end up playing in the NFL, that would be a part of my legacy – I’d love to do that.”
As far as Stona’s promising athletics career goes, he says he wants to use every chance to compete at a high level and aims to compete at every major championship over the next two seasons.
The gold medal in Paris gave Stona “some next level of confidence” to pick up where he left off. He finished second in his Diamond League debut in Rome, and with an impressive win in the French capital on his resume, he could settle into the discus throwing elite for the foreseeable future.
“Now that I’ve thrown 70 meters, I’ve gotten used to that type of distance, I know what it takes to get there,” Stona said. “So now there’s definitely a chance that I can still compete at a high level.”
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