Did it seem familiar when Curtis Thompson won the U.S. javelin title on his final throw?
It should because it’s happened before.
“I’ve done it before,” he said. “I think it was 2023, probably did that. But it just comes down to just trusting what we prepare for and how we prepare, it’s enough. We don’t have to do anything extra. It’s really just locking in and kind of executing the best of your capabilities. So that’s really kind of just boiled down to it.”
In 2023 in Eugene, Thompson was in 3rd place through four rounds at 248-9. He moved up to 2nd with a 256-7, trailing Capers Williamson, who had thrown 258-10 on his 2nd attempt. So he had one final chance to move into the lead, and he responded with a 265-6 on his final throw to lock up his 3rd national title.
On Saturday, the circumstances were similar. He had the lead at 254-1 before Georgia’s Jordan Davis threw 270-2 – 4th-best throw in the world this year – on his final throw. Once again, Thompson responded, this time with the 2nd-best throw in meet history and 3rd-best throw of his life, winning his 6th national title at 287-4.
“Really, it was just locking back in, settling back down, and kind of get back in the groove of things,” he told reporters covering U.S. Nationals at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York. “It just takes one throw.”
Davis’s bomb was the 2nd-best throw of his life and 3rd-best by an American this year. That’s what Thompson had to overcome on his final attempt after five straight throws of 254 or worse.
“I kind of looked at my coach and just kind of smiled and laughed because, you know, we’re competitors,” Thompson said. “We live for competition. We live for that type of energy and you either feed off it and use it or you ignore it and do what you can without it.
“But it was definitely exciting to have him have that throw out there and kind of get everything kind of woken up.”
Thompson is the 5th American thrower to win six U.S. javelin titles and 1st since Breaux Greer from 2000 through 2008. His 284-4 winner trails only Greer’s 299-6 at the 2007 meet on the all-time U.S. Championships performance list, and it’s No. 2 in the world this year, behind Sri Lanka’s Ramesh Tharanga Pathirage 303-10 – all-time world No. 8 – in Rome last month.
Thompson won the 2018 title in Des Moines as a 22-year-old, won the 2021 Olympic Trials in 2021 and 2024 in Eugene and also won national titles in Eugene in 2022, 2023 and 2025. There was no meet in 2020 so he’s won six of the last eight U.S. Championships.
“It means a lot to be able to do this again for the fourth time in a row,” he said. “Super exciting to be able to do that. I’m blessed and grateful to be able to continue to do what I love. Every single title that I’ve gained, every single championship that I’ve competed in holds a dear spot in my heart, my thoughts.”
Thompson has five more meets coming up, all in Europe. He’ll throw Aug. 21 and Aug. 27 at Diamond League meets in Sweden – Aug. 21 in Lausanne and Aug. 27 in Zurich. He’s scheduled for ISTAF Berlin on Aug. 30, the Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium, on Sept. 4, and then the World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 13.
“I’m just going to continue building off this going into the second half of the season, it’s good. We prepared for this meet because we always want to throw far. We have to go far to win. I mean, you can see it. It just takes one throw. So, I mean, I could have not have thrown what I’ve thrown in that last throw, and Jordan would have got his title from having just one throw.
“So it’s really just continuing to gather all the experience that I’ve been gaining and just building off of it and get ready for the second half.
“Right now, I’m at the point where I’m like I don’t want to train, I just want to compete. So it’s exciting to get to that point physically and mentally and kind of just build from there. So, this is like a peak now, build a little bit, and then we’ll peak again towards the end of the year.”
Thompson is already one of the greatest javelin throwers in U.S. history. Only Thompson and Greer have thrown at least 287 feet and won six national titles. Although with Cy Young Jr. in 1952, Tom Petranoff in 1983 and Greer in 2007 he’s one of only four American throwers to medal at World Championships, which he did last year in Tokyo.
Thompson’s 287-4 Saturday was just seven inches off his PR of 287-11, which he threw in Austin last year.
He’ll shoot for U.S. title No. 7 next spring – only Greer has won more than six – and compete at the World Championships in Beijing and then compete for his 3rd U.S. Olympic berth in 2028.
“It’s never a given that you’ll make the team so continue to try and do our best to make the team and once you make the team go get some hardware from those meets,” he said. “I mean that’s that’s been a a new standard that we’re trying to create. Not just going to these meets, we’re going to get that get some hardware and bring it back.”
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 