8 males, 5 females nominated for Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year

Paris Olympic discus gold medallist Roje Stona and triple jump silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts lead the nominations for the 2024 RJR Sports Foundation Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards.

The nominees were announced during a televised ceremony at Television Jamaica’s studios on Wednesday, highlighting athletes who have achieved international success.

Stona, who made history by claiming Jamaica’s first-ever Olympic gold in the men’s discus at the Paris 2024 Olympics, leads a field of eight male nominees.

The list features several track and field stars, including Ackeem Blake (bronze in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships), Rasheed Broadbell (bronze in the 110m hurdles at the Paris Olympics), Rajindra Campbell (shot put bronze at the Paris Olympics), Rusheen McDonald (400m bronze at the World Indoor Championships), Carey McLeod (long jump bronze at the World Indoor Championships), Wayne Pinnock (Olympic silver in the long jump), and Kishane Thompson (100m silver at the Paris Olympics).

On the women’s side, Ricketts, the first Jamaican woman to medal in the Olympic triple jump, is joined by Rushell Clayton (national 400m hurdles champion and Paris Olympic finalist), Ackera Nugent (record-breaking hurdler with a national and world-leading time of 12.24 seconds in the 100m hurdles), Nickisha Pryce (the first Jamaican woman to break the 49-second barrier in the 400m), and Llori Sharpe (cyclist and gold medalist in the Women’s Road Race at the Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships in Guyana), breaking the dominance of track and field among the nominees.

The ceremony also revealed six nominees for The People’s Choice Performance of the Year, celebrating standout moments that captured the public’s imagination. These include Broadbell’s bronze in the 110m hurdles at the Paris Olympics, Nugent’s world-leading 12.24-second run in the Diamond League, Khadija Shaw’s goal against Liverpool in the Women’s Super League, Stona’s historic discus gold at the Olympics, Thompson’s 100m silver at the Paris Olympics, and Chavany Willis’ stunning goal for Arnett Gardens against Portmore United in the Jamaica Premier League.

The winners will be announced at the RJR Gleaner National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards Gala on January 17, 2025, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston.