Rojé Stona, Arkansas alum, sets Olympic record in discus to claim gold
Rojé Stona not only won gold, but he also turned in the top discus performance in Olympic history.
Stona, a recent graduate of Arkansas who competes for Jamaica, threw 70 meters in the discus. He broke the Olympic record, which had just been set in the 2024 Paris Games at 69.97 meters.
Truly an underdog story right there.
Jamaica’s Roje Stona in 8th place, throwing a 70m, a personal best, breaking the #Olympic Record just set by Lithuania’s Alekna of 69.97m and getting First Spot where he remained for the pic.twitter.com/BTzzhWcZKQ— Isaia Lautasi (@Isaia685) August 7, 2024
THE OLYMPIC RECORD TO CLAIM GOLD
Rojé Stona
Men’s Discus
@RazorbackTF #OlympiansMadeHere x #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/SECXTJVykW— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) August 7, 2024
“It’s a great feeling, it’s what I’ve been praying for and what I’ve been dreaming of,” Stona said, per the Arkansas team website. “To come here and actually do it, it’s the best feeling in my life.
“To do it here I knew it would take a lot. Going into the final three rounds I was in seventh place. It doesn’t get any more difficult than that. I knew I had nothing to lose so I just went for it.”
Stona did not play football for the Razorbacks, but he did venture onto the gridiron recently. Stona took part in Arkansas’ Pro Day and landed invitations to training camps with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
“It’s been a long year for me, actually,” Stona said, per ArkansasRazorbacks.com. “I did shot put during the indoor season, then went to a couple of NFL training camps, and then took back up discus. Now, I’m here.”
At Arkansas, Stona finished as the silver medalist in the NCAA Indoor shot put.
Arkansas & Jamaican thrower Rojé Stona runs 4.69s in the 40-yard at the Arkansas football team’s pro day!
(Via Trackwire) pic.twitter.com/Sb327Uvd47
— RoriDunk (@FitzDunk) March 13, 2024