Stona closing in on World Championships debut

Roje Stona is crediting patience for his improved and successful start to his outdoor campaign after taking a step closer towards his first World Championships appearance in the discus.

Stona set a lifetime best mark of 67.02 metres to win the discus at the LSU Invitational last Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, improving the school record for the University of Arkansas. It was a mark that met the standard to qualify for this year's World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Stona, competing in his second outdoor event of the season in the discipline, had to battle through unsavoury conditions and said that his patience was tested during the rounds, getting the winning mark on his final attempt.

"I just had to be patient. I started the competition with 54, a bit below standards, so I had to stay patient, worked my technique and waited for the weather to clear up a little bit," Stona told Arkansas Track and Field. "But I had to accept the challenges that come whenever you are competing."

The entirety of his indoor campaign has been spent doing the shot put, where he finished third in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships and 13th in the National Championships final.

In the discus, he opened his season on April 15 with a 66.64 effort to take second place.

The 24-year-old Stona joins Travis Smikle that so far has met the required qualifying standard for the World Championships. While he will have to ensure that he finishes the job at the National Championships in June, Stona says that making the standard has somewhat taken the pressure off and is looking forward to showing how much he has grown this season.

"It gives you a bit more confidence going into the Trials, knowing that all you need to do is finish in the top three, have fun with it and compete against some good throwers down there and have good competition," Stona said.

Stona finished second at the National Championships last year and competed at the Commonwealth Games, where he finished sixth in the final. Having had a strong indoor campaign, he says he hopes to use that experience to fuel him in the discus.

"It's always good to improve every meet. I have been improving since indoors so I am taking that into the outdoors each meet, taking it a step at a time. I wanted to hit the standard here, and I achieved that," Stona said.

Other Jamaicans had strong performances at the meet in Baton Rogue, with Under-20 World Championships winner Jaydon Hibbert continuing his excellent season with a win in the men's triple jump with an effort of 17.17 metres.

Meanwhile, World Championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts hit the 14 metres mark for the first time this season with 14.06 to win the women's triple jump.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerj,.com