From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Florence’s Curtis Thompson placed 11th in the javelin Saturday night at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene.

Thompson only got off one legal throw in the first round of the finals, throwing 258-3 on his first attempt, well below his 268-1 in Friday’s qualifying round. He fouled on his second and third attempts.

Nonetheless, Thompson this week at Hayward Field became only the 8th American ever to reach the javelin final at the World Championships and the first since Sean Furey in 2009.

Only Breaux Greer, Tom Petranoff, Holmdel’s Bob Roggy and Tom Pukstys (who is one of Thompson’s coaches) have ever placed higher than Thompson among Americans at Worlds:

All-Time U.S. World Championships Javelin Finalists
285-5 … Breaux Greer, 2001 [4th]
282-11 … Breaux Greer, 2007 [3rd]
280-10 … Tom Petranoff, 1983 [2nd]
266-8 … Tom Petranoff, 1987 [4th]
261-7 … Bob Roggy, 1983 [9th]
255-7 … Tom Pukstys, 1993 [9th]
255-0 … Rod Ewaliko, 1983 [11th]
258-3 … Curtis Thompson, 2022 [11th]
244-5 … Sean Furey, 2009 [12th]
238-0 … Duncan Atwood, 1987 [12th]

Thompson missed the eight-man final round of three additional throws by about 11 inches. He was sitting in 6th after the first round and 8th after the second round but ultimately wound up about 11 feet shy of the final.

The 11th-place finish is Thompson’s best at an international championship meet. He placed 21st at the Olympics last year.

Thompson ranks No. 3 in U.S. history with his 287-9 from East Stroudsburg earlier this month. Six of the eight-best throws of his life have come since April, with five of them this month.

Thompson’s Mississippi State teammate, Anderson Peters of Grenada, won the gold medal with a throw of 297-0 on his final throw, becoming the first to repeat a World Championships triumph since Jan Železný in 1993 and 1995. Peters had the top four throws of the competition.

Here’s a look at all of Thompson’s 260-foot throws:
287- 9 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022
273- 4 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271- 7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
269- 7 …American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022
268- 1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 2022
268- 1 … World Athletics Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 21, 2022
267- 4 … World Athletics Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 21, 2022
267- 2 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 22, 2021
266- 5 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
265-10 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 17, 2021
265-10 … Florida State Relays, Mike Long Track, Tallahassee, Fla., March 25, 2016
265- 7 … Victoria Track Classic, Centennial Stadiumn, Victoria, British Columbia, June 15, 2022
264- 8 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 21, 2022
264- 1 … USATF Championships, Hayward Field, Eugene, Ore., June 26, 2022
263-10 … 94th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Mike A. Myers Stadium, Austin, Texas, March 25, 2022
260-11 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 30, 2016
260- 1 … NACAC Under-23, San Salvador, Estadio Jorge “Mágico” González, June 17, 2016