Roje Stona etched his name in the annals of Jamaican sports history as he secured the nation’s first gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games and, in the process, became the first from the island—male or female—to win an Olympic gold medal in the throws.

In a breathtaking performance, Stona, on his debut at the global multi-sport showpiece, not only clinched the top podium spot but also set a new Olympic record of 70.00m, which marked a monumental achievement for himself and his country, at the Stade de France on Wednesday.

Competing in a world-class field, Stona, who was one of three Jamaicans in the final, stood tall with his impressive fourth-round throw to upset the applecart. He won ahead of World Record holder Mykolas Alekna (69.97m) of Lithuania and Australia’s Matthew Denny (69.31m).

The other Jamaicans, Ralford Mullings (65.61m) and Travis Smikle (64.97m), were ninth and 10th, respectively.

Stona, 25, coached by America’s three-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, was praised by Smikle for his achievement, which is a testament to his relentless work ethic and the rigorous training regimen, which included stints with NFL teams Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.

“I am so happy for him; it’s a big thing to see. Stona is a great thrower, and he showed it today. This is the beautiful thing about track and field; there are a lot of upsets, and Stona is having his moment. I had a bad day and Ralford Mullings had a bad day as well, so Stona’s performance is a great achievement for him and for Jamaica as well,” Smikle said.

Jamaica, renowned for its prowess in sprinting, now has a new hero in field events. In fact, four of the country’s five medals at the Paris Games so far have come in the field, as Kishane Thompson’s 100m silver is the lone medal from the track.

Stona’s historic victory in the discus throw, as well as Rajindra Campbell’s shot put bronze, Shanieka Ricketts’ triple jump silver, and Wayne Pinnock’s long jump silver, heralds a new era of success and diversification in Jamaica’s athletic achievements and promises an exciting future for the island’s athletes in all disciplines.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards produced the best 400m race of his life but it just narrowly placed him outside the medals at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old, who entered Wednesday’s Men’s 400m final at the Stade de France with a personal best of 44.18 done at the London Diamond League on July 20 this year, produced a national record 43.78 to finish fourth.

The previous national record of 44.01 was held by Machel Cedenio who ran that time in a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Running out of lane nine, Richards went out extremely hard in the first 300m before being caught by the field in the last portion of the race.

American Quincy Hall won his maiden Olympic title with a brilliant personal best 44.40, the fourth fastest time in history.

Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith, like he did at the World Championships in Budapest last year, took silver with a European record 43.44 while Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga ran 43.74, a national record, to take bronze just ahead of Richards.

Grenadian 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James was fifth in 43.87. USA’s Chris Bailey (44.58), Nigeria’s Samuel Ogazi (44.73) and USA’s Michael Norman (45.62) rounded out the top eight.

The Caribbean will have two chances at a medal in the women’s 400m final at the Paris Olympic Games, as Domincan Republic’s Marileidy Paulino and Barbadian Sade Williams progressed from their respective semi-finals at the Stade de France on Wednesday.

While their progressions were anticipated, Jamaica’s world leader, Nickisha Pryce, who enjoyed a rich vein of form throughout the season, was a big surprise casualty as she had her worst performance this year in semi-final two. Pryce went out hard but faded into fourth in 50.77s, behind Paulino (49.21s), who won comfortably ahead of American Alexis Holmes (50.00s).

Despite placing third in semi-final three, Sade Williams’ 49.89s was good enough for one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots to the final. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (49.45s) won the race ahead of Great Britain’s Amber Anning (49.47s).

Jamaica’s Stacey-Ann Williams (50.79s) and Cuba’s Roxana Gomez (50.48s) were seventh and fifth in that semi-final, respectively, and both failed to progress.

Earlier, Jamaican Junelle Bromfield (51.93s) and Puerto Rico’s Gabby Scott (51.22s) were eighth and seventh in semi-final one, as they too missed out. The qualifying spots from that race went to Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser (49.08s), Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke (49.95s), and Norway’s Henriette Jaeger (50.17s).

The final is scheduled for Friday, August 9.

Jamaica’s Jaydon Hibbert has advanced to the final of the Men’s triple jump at the Paris Olympics.

The 19-year-old, in his first Olympic Games, produced a best jump of 16.99m to advance sixth overall in qualifying at the Stade de France on Wednesday.

That 16.99m came in his first-round jump. He then did 16.95m in round two before closing out his qualifying campaign with a foul in the third round.

The other Jamaican in the field, Jordan Scott, had a best jump of 16.36m to finish 24^th overall in qualifying.

Medal contenders Pedro Pichardo, Jordan Diaz Fortuin and Hugues Fabrice Zango all successfully made it through to Friday’s final.

Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando will be the Caribbean’s lone representative in the men’s 200m final after he successfully navigated the semi-finals on Wednesday’s evening session of the Paris Olympic Games at Stade de France.

Ogando, who has in the past shown his ability over 400m, utilised that endurance to place second in semi-final one. He clocked 20.09s, behind American gold medal favourite Kenneth Bednarek, who stopped the clock in a flat 20.00s.

Bahamian Wanya McCoy (20.61s) and Jamaica’s Bryan Levell (20.93s) were fifth and eighth in that semi-final and failed to progress.

Meanwhile, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (19.96s), American 100m champion Noah Lyles (20.08s), and Zimbabwe’s Makanakaishe Charamba (20.31s) advanced from semi-final two, while another American, Erriyon Knighton (20.09s), Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh (20.12s), and Tapiwanashe Makarawu (20.16s), also of Zimbabwe, got the coveted spots from semi-final three.

The men's 200m final is scheduled for Friday August 9.

Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke and the British Virgin Islands’ Kyron McMaster will represent the Caribbean in the final of the Men’s 400m hurdle after successfully getting through the semifinals at the Stade de France on Wednesday.

BVI’s McMaster, who finished fourth at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, will have an opportunity to win his first Olympic medal after running 48.15 to win the second semifinal ahead of Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.16), now a finalist for the third successive Olympics.

Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba also made it through to the final out of that semi with 48.20 in third.

Jamaica’s Malik James-King looked set to finish in the top two in that semifinal before clipping the last hurdle and stumbling to seventh in 48.85.

Clarke ran comfortably on his way to 48.34 for second in the third semifinal behind American Rai Benjamin who won in 47.85.

Reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Karsten Warholm (47.67), France’s Clement Ducos (47.85) and 2023 World champion Alison Dos Santos (47.95) qualified from the first semifinal.

Jaheel Hyde ran 50.03 to finish seventh in that first semifinal.

The final is set for Friday at 2:45pm Jamaica Time (3:45pm ECT).

St. Lucia’s Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred continued her brilliant showing at the Paris Games with silver in the final of the Women’s 200m at the Stade de France on Monday.

The 23-year-old recovered from a less than ideal start with a strong finish to cross the line second in 22.08.

Gold went to American Gabby Thomas who ran 21.82 while another American, Brittany Brown, took bronze in 22.20.

Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita ran 22.22 and 22.23, respectively for fourth and fifth while Nigeria’s Favour Ofili ran 22.24 in sixth.

American McKenzie Long (22.42) and Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.70) rounded out the top eight.

Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton and Shiann Salmon booked spots in the women’s 400m hurdles final at the Paris Olympic Games following contrasting performances in their respective semi-finals at Stade de France on Tuesday.

Like she has done all season, Clayton went out hard and relaxed somewhat mid-race, before powering home to win semi-final one in a flat 53.00s. She took American Jasmine Jones (53.83s) into the final with her.

American World Record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone cruised to victory in semi-final two in 52.13s, ahead of Frenchwoman Louise Maraval (53.83s), while Jamaica’s Janieve Russell (54.65s) battled hard for fourth but missed a spot in the final.

Meanwhile, Salmon ran a well-paced race for third in semi-final three. She stopped the clock in a personal best of 53.13s, which was good for one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots.

The race was won by gold medal favorite Femke Bol of the Netherlands in an easy 52.57s. American Anna Cockrell (52.90s) was second, while Canada’s Savannah Sutherland (53.80s) also progressed as a non-automatic qualifier.

The final is scheduled for Thursday, August 8.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem ‘The Dream’ Richards and Grenada’s Kirani James ensured the Caribbean will have two shots at a medal in the men’s 400m at the Paris Olympic Games, as both progressed to the final after tidy semi-final performances at the Stade de France on Tuesday.

Richards, hunting his first Olympic Games medal, finished second in semi-final one in 44.33s, behind American Quincy Hall, who won in 43.95s.

James, a three-time Olympic medallist in the event, seems poised to add to his tally as he rekindled his form of old with a blistering season’s best 43.78s clocking in winning semi-final two. It was just outside his personal best of 43.74s.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s lone semi-finalist, Jevaughn Powell (44.91s), produced a gallant performance for fourth in semi-final three, but it was not enough to progress.

The other finalists are Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith (44.07s), American Michael Norman (44.26s), and Christopher Bailey (44.31s), as well as Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga (43.81) and Samuel Ogazi (44.71s) of Nigeria.

The final is scheduled for Wednesday August 7.

Grenada's Anderson Peters and Trinidad and Tobago's Keshorn Walcott both advanced to the men's javelin throw finals at the Paris Olympics Games, following contrasting performances at the Stade de France on Tuesday.

While Peters registered a season’s best 88.63m on his first attempt in a one-and-done performance to qualify second from Group B, Walcott, who launched the instrument to 83.02m for sixth in Group A, was made to sweat before he was eventually confirmed as the 11^th overall best thrower in the final 12 to contest the medal event.

The fact that Peters effortlessly exceeded the qualification standards to qualify second overall places him in line for a possible podium finish, provided he can replicate or better his qualifying performance. Only India's Neeraj Chopra, who threw a season’s best 89.34m, topped Peters.

Walcott, the 2012 Olympic gold medallist, would have welcomed his qualification based on his distance despite not meeting the automatic qualification standard of 84.00m and will no doubt be looking to improve significantly in the final.

The men's javelin throw final is scheduled for August 8.

It was a mixed bag for Caribbean representatives in the Repechage round of the men’s 200m and 400m hurdles and women’s 400m at the Paris Olympic Games, as only two of seven athletes were successful in progressing at the Stade de France on Tuesday.

Of the three Caribbean men in the 200m, only Jamaica’s national champion, Brian Levell, advanced to the semi-final after placing second in heat two in 20.47s, which was good enough for a non-automatic qualifying spot.

Another Jamaican, Andrew Hudson (20.55s), and Bahamian, Ian Kerr (20.60s), placed second and third, respectively, in heat four, but were not quick enough to progress as only the winner from that heat advanced.

In the women’s 400m, Puerto Rico’s Gabby Scott won heat two with a National Record of 50.52s to advance to the semi-finals, while Shaunae Miller-Uibo (53.50s) of the Bahamas was eighth in the same heat.

Earlier, Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams (51.84s) was fifth in heat one and failed to progress.

Meanwhile, Dominican Republic’s Yeral Nunez (53.68s), the lone Caribbean representative in the 400m hurdles, was fifth in his heat and missed out on a spot in the semi-finals.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines can be proud of the performance of their national record holder Shafiqua Maloney in the final of the Women’s 800m at the Paris Olympics on Monday.

The 25-year-old ran a brilliant 1:57.66 to narrowly miss out on a medal after finishing fourth at the Stade de France.

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, the fastest woman in the world this season, produced 1:56.72 to finally win a global gold medal after silver medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 2022 World Championships in Eugene and the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

African Games champion Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia took silver in 1:57.15 while reigning World and Commonwealth champion, Mary Moraa of Kenya, took bronze in 1:57.42.

Wanya McCoy of the Bahamas and Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic were the only two Caribbean athletes to secure automatic qualification to the semifinals of the men’s 200m at the Paris Olympics at the Stade de France on Monday.

McCoy, running out of lane nine, produced an excellent last 50m to finish second in heat two in 20.35 behind Uganda’s Tarsis Orogot who won in a comfortable 20.32.

Brazil’s Renan Correa ran 20.41 to secure the third automatic spot relegating Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson, who ran 20.53 for fourth, to Tuesday’s repechage round.

Ogando was the third fastest qualifier to the semis after running 20.04 to finish second in heat four behind American Kenny Bednarek who’s winning time of 19.96 was the fastest in the heats. Germany’s Joshua Hartmann took the third automatic spot in that race with 20.30.

Jamaica’s Bryan Levell and Bahamian Ian Kerr will both have to come back to tomorrow’s repechage round if they are to make it to the semifinals after fourth and fifth place finishes in their respective heats.

Levell ran 20.47 to finish fourth in heat six behind 100m champion Noah Lyles (20.19), defending Olympic champion Andre De Grasse (20.30) and Japan’s Towa Uzawa (20.33).

Kerr ran 20.53 for fifth in heat five won by American Erriyon Knighton in 19.99. Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu ran 20.07 for second while South Africa’s Shaun Maswanganyi ran 20.20 for third.

Medal contenders Letsile Tebogo of Botswana (20.10) and Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia (20.20) both advanced as heat winners.

American Noah Lyles added the Olympic 100m title to his World 100m crown won last year in Budapest with a narrow victory over Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson and American Fred Kerley in the final of the men’s 100m at the Stade de France in Paris on Sunday.

Thompson, the Jamaican national champion and current world leader in the event, looked set to claim his maiden Olympic gold medal at about the 85m mark before Lyles used his trademark fast finish to just out-dip him in the end.

Both Lyles and Thompson ended with identical times of 9.79 but Lyles won by five thousandths of a second when the times were rounded down. Lyles’ time was 9.784 compared to Thompson’s 9.789.

Fred Kerley, the 2022 World champion, ran 9.81 for bronze.

South Africa’s Akani Simbine narrowly missed out on a medal running 9.82 in fourth while defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy was fifth in 9.85.

Letsile Tebogo (9.86), Kenneth Bednarek (9.88) and Oblique Seville (9.91) rounded out the field.

Grenada’s Lindon Victor captured the bronze medal in the men’s decathlon at the Paris Olympic Games with a final points tally of 8711.

The thrilling decathlon competition saw Norway’s Markus Rooth land gold, while Germany’s Leo Neugebauer secured silver.

Victor delivered outstanding achievements in the 10 events. He set a season’s best in the high jump, clearing 2.02 metres to finish third and receive 822 points.

He then clocked 47.84s in heat two of the 400m race, which earned him 917 points, with another 896 points coming by way of a third-place finish in the 110m hurdles. His time was 14.62s.

The 31-year-old Grenadian then produced an excellent performance in the discus throw, setting an Olympic Decathlon Best of 53.91m, which is when he actually ascended into a medal position by virtue of that 952 points. He then added 880 points and 862 points from the pole vault and javelin, where he cleared 4.90m and threw 68.22m, respectively.

Victor then closed with a 4:43.53-clocking in the 1,500m race, adding 658 points to his final score.

Meanwhile, Bahamian Ken Mullings also delivered a commendable performance in the decathlon, finishing 13th with 8226 points.

Mullings tied Victor's high jump mark of 2.02m, gaining 822 points. He established a season best of 49.43s in the 400m for fourth, which earned him 841 points. 

In the 110m hurdles, Mullings clocked 13.70s for another 1014 points, with a discus personal best of 46.07m adding a further 789 points.

Mullings continued his impressive performance in the pole vault, clearing 4.80m for 849 points, and he had another 735 points from the javelin, where he threw 59.83m.

The 27-year-old then ended with a 4:55.84-clocking in the 1500m to add 584 points to his final tally.