Türkiye invests in foreign legion to deliver LA Olympics gold

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is offering long-term financial support to recruit Jamaican and Kenyan track and field stars with the aim of winning a host of gold medals at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The move was prompted by Türkiye's dire performance at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, where it failed to win a single gold among its eight medals across all sports.

Four top Jamaicans, including 2024 Olympic men's discus gold medallist Roje Stona, and a quintet of Kenyans, among them former women's marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, have agreed to switch allegiance.

However, the man responsible for this recruitment drive, Önder Özbilen, the team coordinator for Türkiye's Olympic athletics team, insisted to AFP that it was not a case of waving the cheque book and the athletes coming running.

"This is the longest-term plan and humanistic naturalization project in the world till now," he said.

This isn’t the first instance of Türkiye accepting athletes from other nations, nor is Türkiye the only country that has done this.

Özbilen denied reports that athletes have been paid $500,000 to switch sides, but said some would receive $300,000 over a 30-month period.

That sum will be to compensate for the lack of win bonuses and loss of endorsements, as the athletes sit out the obligatory three years from the last time they represented their country before they can compete under their new flag.

Brandishing his phone, Özbilen said he had rejected 30 other approaches from athletes, some of them American, claiming their sole interest was financial.

He has certainly succeeded in attracting the cream of Jamaican men's field event talent.

Joining Stona are Wayne Pinnock and Rajindra Campbell, who won silver and bronze in the men's long jump and shot at the Paris Olympics respectively.

The fourth recruit is highly-rated youngster Jaydon Hibbert, 21, who was fourth in the triple jump in Paris.

The athletes will be paid a monthly salary varying from $3,000 to $7,000 and generous bonuses for any medals.

For an Olympic title, they will be rewarded with 1,000 Turkish Republic gold pieces (‘Cumhuriyet Altını’ in Turkish), the equivalent of more than a million dollars.

Stona's manager, Paul Doyle, made no bones about why his athlete had thrown his lot in with the Turks.

Without their support, "he would have had a very difficult time continuing to dedicate himself to the sport," Doyle told AFP.

Pinnock echoed this sentiment. "I gotta do it. I mean... I do love my country, but loyalty doesn't pay bills," the 25-year-old told The Inside Lane in July.

Özbilen rejected the idea it was all about money.

"These are not mercenary transfers," he argued, adding that several of the athletes had been "forgotten by their federations."

The foreign recruitment drive has not been met with universal joy inside Türkiye, especially among athletes and coaches.

Though Özbilen believes it will be the catalyst to grow track and field domestically.

"They will act as role models that will attract local talents," he said.

The ultimate decision on their switch being permitted lies with the sport's governing body, World Athletics, and whether they meet their stipulation of "a genuine connection with the country represented."