Chris Mirabelli opened the 2022 outdoor season with his biggest javelin throw in five years.
Mirabelli, a Holy Cross and Rutgers graduate, threw 246-5 to place second at the Duke Invitational at Morris Williams Stadium in Durham, N.C.
Competing for the Garden State Track Club, the 25-year-old Mirabelli finished second to two-time NCAA champ from Illinois State Tim Glover, who threw 247-03. Mirabelli and Glover both surpassed the previous facility record of 232-11, set by North Carolina’s Houston Summers at the 2016 Battle of the Blues.
Mirabelli averaged 241-6 on his four legal throws in Durham. He opened with a 241-2, then after a foul hit 246-5 on his third throw. He finished with a 235-11, another foul and a 242-9.
It’s Mirabelli’s best throw since he won the 2017 Penn Relays at Penn’s River Fields with a Rutgers school record 251-6, and it’s his 4th-best result ever below only three 2017 meets (251-6 at Penn, 250-0 at the Metropolitan Championships at Rutgers and 246-7 when he won the Big Ten Championships at Penn State).
In only his 4th meet since he finished 2019 at U.S. Nationals, Mirabelli now ranks No. 8 among U.S. men this year and 54th in the world. In 2017, he finished the year ranked No. 6 among U.S. men.
Younger brother Nick, who’s 21, ranked 19th among U.S. men in 2019 with a PR 236-6 throw in Austin. He’s a junior at Texas A&M and competed three weeks ago for the first time since 2019. He’s fully recovered after suffering a torn labrum before the 2021 season began – the same injury Chris recovered from earlier in his career.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 