Don't look now, but Jamaica , that Caribbean island known for producing elite sprinters such as Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, is now a field-event power.
Roje Stona's gold in the discus throw Wednesday gave Jamaica its fourth medal in the field events at the 2024 Olympics - after winning just two in history. Meanwhile, the country's sprinters have only one medal so far in Paris.
"For a country of 3 million people, that's extremely impressive," said three-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser , an American who had a front-row seat for Stona's performance as his coach/training partner.
Stona set an Olympic record with his throw of 70 meters (229 feet, 8 inches). That follows silvers for Wayne Pinnock in the men's long jump and Shanieka Ricketts in the women's triple jump, and a bronze for Rajindra Campbell in the men's shot put.
"We should put more support into the field events. Discus, shotput - I mean, everything," said Stona, the first discus thrower from his country to win an Olympic medal. "The track gets a lot of attention, but the field events has been underrated, and we should get more support."
