Olympian Roje Stona has been left “devastated” after his application to switch allegiance from Jamaica to Turkiye was denied, according to his agent, Paul Doyle, who also confirmed that an appeal is being prepared.

Doyle said the decision came as a surprise, particularly given that similar requests have been approved for other athletes in the past.

“Athletes in the past have been approved, and now all of a sudden, these ones aren’t,” Doyle said during an interview with the Jamaica Observer. “I can speak for Roje because he’s the only one that I represent they’ve really, truly embraced Turkish culture, so to me it doesn’t make sense.”

The ruling means Stona, the Olympic discus champion, will not be immediately eligible to compete for Turkiye as had been hoped, disrupting plans for a seamless transition to his new sporting affiliation.

Doyle indicated that while Stona is trying to remain composed, the outcome has been difficult to absorb.

“He’s not happy, obviously, but he understands that it’s a process,” Doyle explained. “Hopefully, we can get through this and it’ll work out as favourably as possible for him. The hope was that he would be eligible right away. That’s obviously not going to be the case now, but he’s pretty devastated.”

Stona is one of 11 athletes whose applications were rejected by the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel. The list includes fellow Jamaicans Jaydon Hibbert, Rajindra Campbell and Wayne Pinnock.

The other affected athletes are Catherine Relin (Selin Can) Amanang’ole (Kenya), Brian Kibor (Kenya), Brigid Kosgei (Kenya), Ronald Kwemoi (Kenya), Nelvin (Can) Jepkemboi (Kenya), Favour Ofili (Nigeria) and Sophia Yakushina (Russia)

Doyle said the athlete’s camp is not accepting the decision without challenge.

“We’re going to appeal it and see where it can go,” he said. “We’re prepared to take it to the highest level.”

Despite the disappointment, Doyle suggested that Stona remains focused on navigating the process and continuing his preparation as the situation unfolds.