Is his dream coming true?
Olympic champion wants to change sport
December 10, 2024 – 5:39 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After winning Olympic gold in the discus throw, Rojé Stona wants to make the jump to the NFL. There are initially ten weeks of training in Florida.
From the discus ring to the NFL? For Olympic champion Rojé Stona, the dream of a career as a professional football player has become a little more realistic. The Jamaican, who sensationally won Olympic gold in the discus throw for the Caribbean country in Paris in the summer, was selected as one of 14 athletes for the International Player Pathway Program (IPP) to promote foreign athletes.
The initiative, launched in 2017, gives athletes outside the US the chance to train at the highest level in the hope of making the jump to the US professional league. Since the program’s inception, 41 international athletes have signed with NFL clubs and 23 are currently on NFL rosters.
Stona, trained by three-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, had already left it open after his triumph in France whether he would continue in athletics. “I have to think a lot, make a lot of decisions,” the two-meter man, whom everyone just calls “Tallerdandem,” said: “And then we’ll see what happens.”
Stona almost missed the big performance at the Stade de France last August, where he gave the sprint nation a great moment as a thrower of exactly 70 meters, because of his NFL goal. Before the Olympics, he had presented his skills at mini camps to the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints – but at that time without success.
He and the other participants, including German offensive tackle Leander Wiegand, are now awaiting ten weeks of training in Florida. The applicants will present themselves to NFL scouts in March. “The Class of 2025 is an exciting group and we are excited to welcome these talented athletes from around the world,” said NFL Vice President Peter O’Reilly. “Focusing on developing global football and nurturing international talent is critical to the global growth of our sport.”