Turkey’s Olympic Bid: Naturalizing Athletes & The Cost of Medals
Istanbul – Frustrated by a 64th-place finish at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris – its worst Olympic performance to date – Turkey has embarked on an ambitious recruitment drive, naturalizing eleven foreign athletes, including five Olympic medalists from Kenya and Jamaica, in a bid to bolster its medal count for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Önder Özbilen, the coordinator of Turkish athlete candidates for the 2028 Games, confirmed the list of newly naturalized athletes to AFP. He characterized the effort as “the most humanist naturalization campaign ever undertaken.”
Among the high-profile additions is Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, the former marathon world record holder and silver medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Joining her is compatriot Ronald Kwemoi, who secured a silver medal in the 5000 meters at the Paris Games. Three other Kenyan athletes – Catherine Amanang’ole, Nelvin Jepkemboi, and Brian Kibor – have also been brought into the fold.
From Jamaica, four athletes who contributed to their nation’s six-medal haul in Paris have switched allegiances: Rojé Stona, the surprise gold medalist in the discus throw; Wayne Pinnock, a silver medalist in the long jump; Rajindra Campbell, a bronze medalist in the shot put; and Jaydon Hibbert, a 21-year-old who finished fourth in the triple jump.
Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili and Russian heptathlete Sofia Yakushina, both signed to contracts extending through October 2032, complete the group of new Turkish citizens.
“Compensations” in the Six-Figure Range
“These transfers are not the function of mercenaries,” Özbilen insisted, claiming to have rescued several athletes “abandoned by their federations.” He believes these athletes will serve as “role models” to attract local talent to Turkish athletics.
Özbilen stated he declined 30 offers from athletes, including Americans, motivated solely by financial gain. However, reports from African and Caribbean media suggest substantial financial incentives were offered, with figures reaching up to $500,000 USD (approximately $685,000 CAD) per athlete. These figures were disputed by multiple sources, including the agent of Jamaican discus thrower Rojé Stona.
Özbilen clarified that half of the athletes received “compensation” ranging up to $300,000 USD, paid out over 30 months, to offset lost income – prize money and sponsorships – during the three-year period when naturalized athletes are ineligible to represent another nation in international competition.
In addition to this, the athletes receive a monthly salary ranging from $3,000 to $7,000 USD (between $4,100 and $9,600 CAD). Turkish medalists are also eligible for generous rewards, potentially receiving up to 1,000 Cumhuriyet Altini (gold coins of the Turkish Republic) – currently worth over $1 million USD – for an Olympic gold medal.
“Paying the Bills”
“I love my country, but loyalty isn’t enough to pay the bills,” Jamaican long jumper Wayne Pinnock told The Inside Lane last year, a sentiment that appears to resonate with some of the athletes who have chosen to compete for Turkey.
Rojé Stona’s agent, Paul Doyle, stated that it would have been “very difficult” for his client to continue his athletic career had he remained in Jamaica.
These changes of allegiance, along with the nine other athlete naturalizations between May and July 2025, still require validation from a panel within World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field. World Athletics mandates that any competitor must demonstrate a “genuine connection” to the country they represent.
“We are patiently awaiting their decision, fully adhering to the roadmap,” Özbilen said, adding that all the athletes now have a residence in Turkey. World Athletics confirmed to AFP that “each case will be studied in depth,” but did not provide a timeline for its review.
A Canadian Offer Declined
The recruitment strategy, previously conducted in secrecy, has drawn criticism from athletes and coaches within Turkey, according to Devrim Demirel, a journalist for the daily newspaper Nefes who has covered Turkish athletics since the 1990s.
Demirel described the campaign as a “gamble” funded by taxpayer money, undertaken without consultation with the Turkish Athletics Federation and “without any guarantee of medals.”
Turkey, which hasn’t finished in the top 25 of the medal table since the 2004 Athens Olympics, is hoping its strategy will pay dividends. Özbilen had reportedly targeted Canadian hammer thrower Ethan Katzberg, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and 2023 and 2025 world champion, but Katzberg declined the offer. “They offered him money, but for him it wasn’t even a question of money,” his agent, Robert Wagner, told AFP.
Wagner expressed hope that World Athletics would “scrutinize” each submission from Turkey, adding, “You can’t have people who aren’t there, with an apartment where someone just comes to water the plants.”