Four leading Jamaican athletes, including 2024 Olympic men’s discus champion Roje Stona, have had their requests to switch allegiance to Turkey rejected by the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel.
Also denied were applications from Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell, triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert and long jumper Wayne Pinnock.
The decision also affected athletes from other countries, including Nigeria’s Favour Ofili, Russia’s Sophia Yakushina, and Kenya’s Catherine Relin Amanang’ole, Brian Kibor, Brigid Kosgei, Ronald Kwemoi and Nelvin Jepkemboi.
In announcing the decision on Thursday, the panel said approving the applications would undermine the intent of World Athletics’ eligibility and transfer-of-allegiance rules. It found the requests formed part of a coordinated recruitment effort by the Turkish government, operating through a state-funded club, which offered lucrative contracts to attract foreign athletes and enable them to compete for Turkey at major events, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Given the common features across the applications, the panel reviewed them collectively and concluded the approach conflicted with the sport’s core principles. It said the rules are designed to safeguard the credibility of international competition, encourage member federations to invest in developing domestic talent, and maintain confidence that national teams are not primarily assembled through external recruitment.
“As a result of the decisions, the athletes are not eligible to represent Turkey in national representative competitions or other relevant international events,” World Athletics said, noting that the ruling does not prevent the athletes from competing in one-day meetings or road races in a personal or club capacity, or from living and training in Turkey.
World Athletics’ transfer-of-allegiance regulations govern the conditions under which athletes may represent another member federation in international competition. While citizenship is a starting point, additional criteria are applied to ensure a genuine connection between the athlete and the country they represent and to protect the integrity, credibility and development of the sport globally.
The Nationality Review Panel is responsible for determining applications relating to athlete eligibility and transfers of allegiance under these regulations.
The Jamaican athletes were reported to have completed documentation to become Turkish citizens in 2025, drawn by lucrative financial incentives. The move was widely viewed as a potential blow to Jamaica’s athletics programme, particularly as the athletes are among the leading figures in the country’s improving field events.
In response at the time, the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association indicated it would raise the matter with the sport’s global governing body. The World Athletics Nationality Review Panel has now delivered its decision.
“The panel considered that approval of these applications would impinge upon and compromise the imperatives underlying the eligibility rules and transfer of allegiance regulations,” World Athletics said in a statement.
“The panel found that the applications formed part of a coordinated recruitment strategy led by the Turkey government acting through a wholly-owned and financed government club, to attract overseas athletes through lucrative contracts, with the aim of facilitating transfers of allegiance and enabling those athletes to represent Turkey at future international competitions, including the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.”
World Athletics noted that its transfer rules were tightened in 2019, with president Sebastian Coe previously warning that some cases of young athletes switching allegiance were akin to human trafficking.
Turkey has previously recruited foreign-born athletes, including at the 2016 European Championships where the team featured athletes from Kenya, Jamaica, Ethiopia, Cuba, Ukraine, South Africa and Azerbaijan. Ramil Guliyev, who switched allegiance from Azerbaijan to Turkey, later won the 200 metres gold medal at the 2017 World Championships.
World Athletics reiterated that the refusal to grant the allegiance transfers does not prevent the 11 athletes from competing in one-day meetings or road races in a personal or club capacity, or from living and training in Turkey.
