There were no surprises on Friday night as Paris 2024 Olympic Games medalists Roje Stona and Shanieka Ricketts were crowned National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year at the prestigious RJRGLEANER awards ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel.
Stona and Ricketts, who delivered historic performances in Paris, were the clear favourites for the awards, as their wins continued track and field’s dominance of Jamaica’s premier sporting accolades.
Stona made history in the French capital when he launched a record-breaking 70.00m throw to secure gold in the discus. The achievement marked Jamaica’s first Olympic medal—and gold—in a field event, a feat that etched his name in the annals of the nation’s sporting history.
Ricketts, a consistent performer on the global stage, claimed her first Olympic medal with a silver in the Women’s Triple Jump. Her 14.87m effort placed her second behind Dominica’s Thea LaFond (15.02m), with the USA’s Jasmine Moore (14.67m) taking bronze. Ricketts was Jamaica’s only female medalist in Paris and entered the awards as the overwhelming favourite.
The awards recognized a stellar year for Jamaica’s track and field athletes, who have claimed every Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year award since 2019. Other male nominees included Kishane Thompson, who won 100m silver in Paris and ended 2024 as the fastest man in the world with a blistering 9.77 seconds at the National Senior Championships.
Wayne Pinnock, the Men’s Long Jump silver medalist with an 8.36m leap, along with bronze medalists Rasheed Broadbell (110m Hurdles) and Rajindra Campbell (Shot Put), also featured among the nominees.
The women’s nominees included national 400m Hurdles champion and Paris Olympic finalist Rushell Clayton, national 100m Hurdles record holder Ackera Nugent, national 400m record holder Nickisha Pryce, and Llori Sharpe, who struck gold in the Women’s Road Race at the Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships in Guyana.
Track and field athletes have historically dominated the RJRGLEANER awards since its inception in 1961. They have accounted for 55 of the women’s awards and 34 of the men’s awards.
Stona and Ricketts now join a celebrated list of honourees, following Antonio Watson and Shericka Jackson, who claimed the 2023 awards.