Jamaican track and field is suffering back-to-back blows. First, Olympic gold medalist discus athlete, Roje Stona, and bronze medalist shot put thrower Rajindra Campbell walked out of the tent. Now, two others are following suit. There’s the Olympic long-jump silver medalist Wayne Pinnock and the World Under-20 triple-jump record holder Jaydon Hibbert. At just 24 and 20, when most focus on climbing up the ladder, why are these track and field athletes taking such stringent calls? We don’t know yet. But we now know that their Jamaican agent isn’t happy about it…
Both Hibbert and Pinnock are managed by the Jamaican agent, Henry Rolle, who is a former Bahamian athlete, coach, and is currently looking after the managerial requirements for quite a few track stars, including the St. Lucian queen, Julien Alfred. But you’d be surprised to know that ever since his athletes put in applications for an allegiance switch to Turkey before the World Athletics, Rolle hasn’t spoken to them. Here’s what he felt in that moment when they first told him about the move.
Rolle spoke to SportsMax TV in a virtual interview aired on June 24. That’s when he clarified that he had bluntly disapproved when he was first approached about these exits. He said, “Well, when the news, when the young men approached me, actually, I was approached by their coach first. And I basically told them that if he wants my approval, he can’t get that. And I told the athletes the same thing.” While Rolle knew that he couldn’t stop their impending moves, he made sure that they were aware of his displeasure.
The track and field agent is very clear-headed about the fact that his loyalties lie with Jamaica. “Jamaica has been the backbone of my success and my career over the last 20 years. Some of my closest friends, colleagues, mentors are Jamaicans,” he said. That’s why his only advice to Jaydon Hibbert and Wayne Pinnock was, “Hey, it’s your decision. Think about it hard now…” However, he now fears that their steps may not lead to promising results. Here’s why.
Track and field agent Henry Rolle opined that these switches might create an irreplaceable void in the athletes’ hearts. He said, “You know when in its national anthem it has a stir response to duty call Jamaica the land we love and I just feel that from my perspective to two gentlemen I work with um there will be some mental distress later on and sense of loss and displacement. And they will have a divided heart, and that’s my main concern…”
But Rolle feels that this just stands true for Hibbert and Pinnock. On the other hand, the other two Jamaican nationals, Roje Stona and Rajindra Campbell, had to make this tough call because “they didn’t have contracts, they weren’t getting the support and so forth.” However, he feels that for Hibbert and Pinnock, this could be avoided. In fact, it’s actually surprising as to what might have changed for Hibbert and Pinnock, who were once extremely positive and proud about representing the yellow, green, and black colors.
These track and field athletes loved Jamaica
Back in 2023, Jaydon Hibbert told Olympics.com that he really looks up to the Jamaican legend, Usain Bolt, and that “Being the Usain Bolt in the jumps, that’s the plan.” When he joined the NCAA as an Arkansas Razorback, he maintained the stance that he was proud to be the new face of Jamaican triple jumping. In the 2024 NCAA track and field championships press conference, he said, “Jamaica is of course known for their great works in the sprints and usually the jumps, it’s highly neglected, so my goal as an 18-year-old was to inspire younger generations of athletes….”
In the same press conference, Hibbert continued to say that, “Being almost the Jamaican national record holder…..I’m feeling blessed and truly favored to be the one to put the jumps on the map for Jamaica.” Even Wayne Pinnock was the one who led the Jamaican squad at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in March with Ackera Nugent. So, what happened suddenly? The two athletes are yet to speak up! However, this switch continues to shock many.
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