Florence Olympian Curtis Thompson destroyed his six-year old javelin PR at the American JavFest Saturday and uncorked the best throw by an American in 15 years.

Thompson threw a mind-boggling 287-9, the No. 7 mark in the world this year.

It’s also No. 3 in U.S. history, behind only Breaux Greer [American record 299-6 in Indianapolis in 2007] and Tom Petranoff [292-6 in Potchefstroom, Russia, in 1991].

So he improved nearly 16 feet in one day and he’s now less than 12 feet from the American record.

Thompson’s previous PR was 271-11 from the 2016 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Thompson broke the meet record of 281-0 set last year by Olympian Michael Shuey. That was also previously the best throw on Pennsylvania soil.

In all, Thompson PR’d twice and recorded three of the five-best throws of his life despite only taking four throws.

He opened with a PR 273-4 before blasting the 287-9 on his second attempt. He followed that with a 269-7 and then a 246-9 before shutting down and passing his final two throws with Worlds just a week away.

Thompson goes into the World Championships in Eugene next week ranked No. 49 in world history.

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
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

Millville rising senior Leah Howard, the state Group 4 javelin champ as a junior, surpassed the 140-foot barrier three times Friday at the American JavFest.

Howard placed 6th with a best throw of 141-8 among some of the country’s top javelin throwers in the high school elite division of the annual javelin clinic and competition that draws throwers of all levels to East Stroudsburg (Pa.) South High School.

She also had throws of 140-11 and 141-4 and averaged 137-6 on her six throws.

Howard had only surpassed 140 feet once during the high school season, hitting 148-2 at the state meet at Franklin. That’s No. 15 in state history and No. 6 in South Jersey history with the current implement. Howard threw 135-3 when she placed 2nd at the Meet of Champions.

Howard, the No. 6 junior in the country this past spring, opened her series with a 140-11 and a 141-4. After a near 140-foot throw – 139-4 on her third attempt – she hit 129-5 before her 141-8. She finished with a 132-6.

Eliza King of Aiken (S.C.), who threw 152-1 in May, won the event with a personal-best monster throw of 168-10.

Howard 140-11, 141-4, 139-4, 129-5, 141-8, 132-6

137-6

Curtis Thompson will be throwing in his first World Championships after all.

Thompson, the Olympian from Florence, placed 2nd in the U.S. Championships last weekend in Eugene with a throw of 264-1.

But because he and none of the other competitors had reached the World Championships qualifying standard of 278-10 ¼ – which only four Americans have ever thrown – it was believed that only the winner, Virginia’s Ethan Dobbs, would represent the U.S. at the World Championships later this month.

It turns out there is another way to qualify for the U.S. team and it’s a way that nobody watching the U.S. Championships, nobody attending the U.S. Championships and nobody following the U.S. Championships could have possibly known about.

On page 5 of a document called “2022 World Athletics Selection Procedures,” which is a download on Flipsnack with a link buried on the USATF web site, it states:

“If, after the close of the Selection Event, there is a place or are places in an event(s) on the World Championships Team that have not been filled, USATF will enter an athlete(s) or designate an athlete as an alternate, based upon their rank order of place finish at the Selection Event, and by virtue of their standing on the World Rankings list to be published by World Athletics on June 29, 2022. These athletes are not required to achieve the corresponding entry standard.”

If you hunt around the World Athletics web site for a while you can find the world rankings lists, and it shows Thompson at No. 22 in the world based on a sliding point scale with 1,166 points.

If you click on his name in that list, you see five of his results from this year with a point value assigned to each performance ranging from 1,138 points for his 266-5 at the Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver last month to 1,119 points for his 81.22 at the USATF Throws Fest in Tucson in May.

Why isn’t his 268-1 from Oregon Relays listed? Who knows? Maybe this is his most recent five meets? And what is the difference between an “R Sc” and a Pt.Sc?” No idea.And good luck trying to figure it all out.

How do they get 1,166 points? It appears it’s the average of the “PtSc” point totals from the five meets that are listed.

What other sport holds a national-caliber competition and keeps it a secret how it works? It’s like going to the Super Bowl and they refuse to tell you the score. USATF seems to have zero desire to keep fans interested in the sport it’s supposed to be promoting.

This is typical USATF. They hold a national championship meet to qualify athletes for the World Championships and don’t let anybody know how the advancement procedure works. The only reason I even know he’s on the team is because I follow him on social media. Great job as always, USATF!

But it’s great news for Thompson since the javelin standard is so out of whack with what people are throwing these days. Only 10 throwers in the world have hit the standard this year, all from Europe.

The 2022 World Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 at Hayward Field in Eugene, where Thompson has recorded the three-best throws of his life.

The men’s javelin is scheduled in two sections for 8:05 p.m. and 9:35 p.m. EST on Thursday, July 21 – we don’t know yet which section Thompson will compete in. The final is scheduled for 9:35 p.m. on Saturday, July 23.

Thompson has placed in the top-3 at U.S. nationals four times now and has never placed worse than 6th: He was 2nd at the 2016 Olympic Trials, 6th in the 2017 nationals in Sacramento, won nationals in 2018 in Des Moines, took 4th in 2019 in Des Moines, there was no meet in 2020 and he won last year’s Olympic Trials in Eugene.

Thompson will join Pleasantville’s Nia Ali, Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard and Delsea’s Josh Awotunde in the South Jersey contingent at Worlds. Ali will race the high hurdles and Woodard and Awotunde are throwing the shot.

Here’s what their schedules look like:

Friday, July 15
8:05 p.m. – Women’s shot put qualifying
9:55 p.m. – Men’s shot put qualifying
Saturday, July 16
9:25 p.m. – Women’s shot put final
Sunday, July 17
9:27 p.m. – Men’s shot put final
Thursday, July 21
8:05 p.m. – Men’s javelin qualifying
Saturday, July 23
2:20 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles qualifying
9:35 p.m. – Men’s javelin final
Sunday, July 24
8:05 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles semifinals
10 p.m. – Women’s 100-meter hurdles final

Here’s a look at all of Thompson’s lifetime throws of 260 feet or better:

271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
268-1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 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

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali followed her 12.49 in the 100 hurdles at U.S. Nationals with a 12.53 in Stockholm on Thursday.

Ali placed 3rd in the Bauhaus Galan Diamond League meet at Olympic Stadium, which means the 2019 World Champion has recorded two of the six-fastest times of her life in the past week.

The 33-year-old Ali ran 12.49 in the semifinals at Nationals in Eugene and with an auto berth at Worlds later thismonth secured she scratched from the final.

Her 12.53 Thursday is the fastest she’s ever run outside a national or world championship race. This is Ali’s first season competing since 2019. Virtually every meet was cancelled in 2020, and she took the 2021 Olympic season off to have a baby.

Here are the 10 fastest times of Ali’s career:

12.34 … World Championships, Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [1st]
12.44 … World Championships, Doha, Qatar, Oct. 6, 2019 [sf]
12.48 … U.S. Championships, Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [3rd]
12.49 … U.S. Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 25, 2022 [sf]
12.52 … U.S. Championships, Sacramento, Calif., June 24, 2017 [2nd]
12.53 … Bauhaus Galan, Stockholm, June 30, 2022 [3rd]
12.55 … U.S. Championships, July 27, 2019 [2nd]
12.55 … U.S. Olympic Trials, July 8, 2016 [3rd]
12.57 … Müller Anniversary Games, London, July 20, 2019 [2nd]
12.57 … U.S. Championships, Des Moines, Iowa, June 22, 2013 [sf]

Ali is ranked No. 10 in the world this year and No. 5 among Americans. She’s No. 10 in world history and No. 4 among Americans.

Ali is seeking to become the first hurdler to win the 100-meter highs at consecutive World Championships since American Michelle Perry in Helsinki in 2005 and Osaka in 2007.

The World Athletics Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The women’s hurdles competition open with qualifying rounds at 2:20 p.m. EST Saturday, July 23, with semifinals at 8:05 p.m. Sunday, July 24, and the final following at 10 p.m.

Highland grad Floyd Whitaker popped two more 50-foot jumps and earned a berth at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships with a 2nd-place finish at the USATF National U20 Championships in Eugene.

Whitaker, who just finished his freshman year at Minnesota, jumped 50-4 ½ and 50-3 ½ on his first two jumps and led through four rounds before placing 2nd to Texas freshman Solomon Washington, who went 50-9 ½ on his 5th jump. All three 50-foot jumps were wind-aided.

Whitaker had a 49-10 with a 1.9 meters-per-second tailwind on his 4th jump that was the bet wind-legal jump of the competition.

Washington and Whitaker will represent the U.S. at the World Under-20 Championships next month in Cali, Columbia.

Whitaker set his PR indoors in Minneapolis in January, when he jumped 51-5 ¼. He hit his legal outdoor best of 50-2 ¼ at the NCAA West Preliminary Round last month in Fayetteville, Ark.

At Highland, Whitaker won numerous state and Meet of Champions titles, won Outdoor Nationals last May – also at Hayward Field – and jumped 50-2 ½ when he won his first M-of-C title. That’s No. 3 in South Jersey history.

In Eugene, Whitaker reached 49-5 ½ or better on all four of his legal jumps. He actually had four of the six-best jumps of the competition.

The World Athletics Under-20 Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 back at Hayward Field. The triple jump begins at 9:20 p.m. Thursday, July 21, with qualifying rounds followed by the final at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 23.

Curtis Thompson placed second Sunday in the javelin at the USATF Championships in Eugene – his 4th top-3 finish at nationals – but won’t throw at World Championships because he hasn’t hit the World Athletics qualifying standard.

Thompson, a Florence native who competed in the 2021 Olympics, threw 264-1 on his 5th throw to take the lead before finishing 2nd to Ethan Dabbs of Virginia, who hit 266-8 on his final attempt to move from 5th into the lead.

Thompson placed 2nd at Hayward Field in the 2016 Olympic Trials, 6th in the 2017 nationals in Sacramento, won the 2018 meet in Des Moines, took 4th in 2019 in Des Moines, there was no meet in 2020 and he won last year back in Eugene.

So he’s competed at nationals in Eugene three times and placed in the top two all three times. He also won the 2014 USATF Junior National title and 2016 NCAA title in Eugene.

The qualifying standard for the 2022 World Championships in Eugene next month is 278-10 ¼, (85 meters) and only four Americans have ever thrown that far.

The No. 1 mark by an American this year is Dabbs’ 272-0 when he placed 2nd in the NCAA Championships for Virginia in Durham, N.C., last month. Dabbs is a Pennsylvania native from Richland High in Johnstown, Cambria County.

When a country doesn’t have any qualified athletes in a specific event, one unqualified athlete can participate in Worlds, and that will be Dabbs because of his win at nationals.

Thompson opened with a 258-10 but fouled on his next two attempts while Penn’s Mark Anthony Minichello took the lead with a 259-4.

Thompson opened the finals with a 251-2 before popping the 264-1 on his 5th attempt. Since he was ahead of Dabbs going into the final, he threw after him, so he had one last chance to regain the lead but fouled on his 6th throw. Minichello, throwing last, wasn’t able to improve on his 259-4, so Dabbs and Thompson finished 1st and 2nd.

The 264-1 is four feet off his season best of 268-1, which he also threw at Hayward Field at the Oregon Relays in April.

Minichello, who wound up 3rd,, is from Wyoming Area High in Exeter, Pa., Luzerne County, so the top three finishers are all from Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

Going into the meet, Dabbs ranked No. 1 among Americans, Tim Glover was No. 2 at 271-8 and Thompson was 3rd. Glover placed 5th at 250-6.

Seven out of Thompson’s 10-best throws ever have been in either Tucson or Eugene.

271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021
268-1 … Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, April 23, 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

Delsea’s Josh Awotunde is on his way to his 2nd straight World Championships.

Awotunde popped a 70-7 throw on his third shot put attempt at the USATF National Championships in Eugene, Ore., to move from 4th to 3rd and secure a berth at Worlds

Awotunde placed 5th at indoor Worlds at Штарк арена (Stark Arena) in Belgerade, Serbia, in March.

Awotunde had only competed once outdoors this spring – he threw 70-11 ½ on April 16 at the USATF Golden Games at Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut, Calif – so Nationals was his first meet in 10 weeks and only his sixth since the end of his 2021 season.

After throwing 69-8 ¼ and 67-10 ¼ on his first two throws, Awotunde was sitting in 4th place, one spot outside qualifying for Worlds.

But with his 70-7 he moved past Tripp Piperi of Texas, who was sitting in 3rd at 70-3 ¾, and that held up for the final spot on the U.S. team that will compete in the World Championships later this summer back at Hayward Field.

Awotunde closed with throws of 67-11 and 68-9 ¼ before fouling on his final throw. His five legal throws averaged 69-0.

Awotunde is ranked No. 9 in the world this year with his 70-11 ½ from April and No. 15 in U.S. history with his PR of 72-2 from a meet in Padova, Italy, last September.

The U.S. men’s and women’s teams will both be represented by South Jersey shot putters. Cherokee graduate Jessica Woodard PR’d with a 63-7 ¾ – No. 14 in US. History – to place 3rd in the women’s shot put. Woodard graduated from Cherokee in 2013, one year before Awotunde graduated from Delsea.

The 2022 World Athletics Champions are scheduled for July 15-24 at Hayward Field. The men’s shot put qualifying round is scheduled for 9:55 p.m. EST on July 15 with the final slated for July 17 at 9:27 p.m.

Here is a look at all of Awotunde’s 70-foot throws, including all secondary throws within a series. Note that full series information was never released in the results from last year’s Meeting Città di Padova at Stadio Colbachini in Padovad, Poland. So it’s possible he has additional 70-foot throws from that meet we don’t know about.

Josh Awotunde All-Time 70-Foot Throws
72-2 … Meeting Città di Padova, Stadio Colbachini, Padovad, Poland, Sept. 5, 2021 [N/A] [place]
71-8 … U.S. Olympic Trials, Eugene, Ore., June 18, 2021 [6th throw] (5th place]
71-2 ¼i … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [3rd throw] (5th)
71-2 ¼ … Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 6, 2021 [4th throw] (3rd)
71-1 ½ … Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., May 9, 2021 [6th throw] [2nd place]
70-11 ¾ … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [5th throw] [2nd]
70-11 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [5th throw) [2nd]
70-10 ¾ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [4th throw) [—]
70-7 … USATF Championships, Eugene, Ore., June 24, 2022 [3rd throw] [2nd]
70-6 ½ … Gyulai István Memorial, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, July 6, 2021 [6th throw] [—]
70-6 ¼i … American Track League, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 12, 2022 [3rd throw] [1st]
70-3 ½ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [3rd throw] [—]
70-2 ½i … American Track League, Louisville, Ky., Feb. 12, 2022 [1st throw] [—]
70-0 ¼ … USATF Golden Games, Walnut, Calif., April 16, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]
70-0 ¼ … World Athletics Indoors, Belgrade, Serbia, March 19, 2022 [2nd throw] [—]

Cherokee’s Jessica Woodard bombed one of the top shot put performances in U.S. history Sunday to secure a spot on the U.S. team that will compete later this summer at the World Championships.

Woodard, 27, moved up from 4th to 3rd and locked up the final qualifying spot when she threw 63-7 ¾ on her 5th attempt at the USATF Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

The top three finishers qualify for the U.S. national team as long as they’ve met the World Athletics standard, which in the case of the shot put is 60-8 ¼.

This is Woodard’s first national team.

Woodard came into the meet with a lifetime-best of 62-3 ½.

She threw exactly 61-7 ¾ on her 1st and 4th attempts separated by two fouls but despite throwing within six inches of her PR she was still sitting in 4th with two throws left, behind world leader and world indoor silver medalist Chase Ealey (70-6 ¾), Ohio State Olympian Adelaide Aquilla (63-9 ¾) and 2021 Olympic silver medalist Raven Saunders (62-2 ¼).

On her 5th throw, Woodard hit 63-7 ¾ to pass Saunders and move into 3rd. Saunders then fouled on her 5th attempt and threw 61-5 on her 4th to lock Woodard into 3rd place.

Woodard’s 63-7 ¾ is No. 8 in the world this year and and No. 14 in U.S. history.

The 2022 World Athletics Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 back at Hayward Field in Eugene.

The women’s shot put qualifying rounds are scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EST July 15 with the final at 9:25 p.m. July 16.

Bryanna Craig is headed for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships later this summer after all.

Craig, a Millville native who graduated from Ruston (La.) earlier this month, placed 3rd in the hepthatlon at the USATF Under-20 Championships this week in Eugene, Ore., and only the top two placers reveive automatic invitations to join the U.S. national team that will compete at the World Championships in South America in August.

Craig scored 5,388 points, the 11th-highest score in high school history. She finished 13 points behind JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, a freshman at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, Wash., who broke Craig’s U.S. freshman record earlier this year and improved it this weekend to 5,401 points. That’s No. 10 in U.S. high school history.

NCAA Division 2 All-America Blakelee Winn, who recently finished her freshman year at Pittsburg (Kans.) State University, won the event with 5,473 points in her final year of Under-20 eligibility. She placed 3rd at the NCAA Division 2 Championships in Allendale, Mich.

But due to an administrative issue, Winn will apparently not be able to represent the U.S. at the World Under 20 Championships, which is scheduled for Aug. 1-6 at Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, Colombia.

As the first alternate, Craig joins Gero-Holt on the U.S. Under-20 team.

Winn, Gero-Holt and Craig rank 27th, 38th and 41st among all U.S. women through Saturday.

In Eugene, Craig PR’d in the shot put (34-7), 200 (25.11), javelin (118-0) and 800 (2:19.42). She also ran 14.55 in the high hurdles, high jumped 5-7 ¾ and long jumped 18-6 ¼ in the two-day, seven-event challenge.

 

Pleasantville’s Nia Ali ran the 8th-fastest high hurdles time in the world this year in the semifinals at USATF Nationals Saturday, then scratched from the final with her spot at the World Championships assured.

Ali ran 12.49 to win the first of two 100-meter hurdles semifinal races Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. That was the 2nd-fastest time going into the final behind only world record holder Kendra Harrison, who ran 12.40 to win the 2nd semifinal. Harrison set the world record of 12.20 to win the Olympic gold medal in London in 2016.

Ali was 2nd in that race but ran her PR of 12.34 when she won the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. That’s 7th in world history.

At 33 years old after taking a year and a half off to have her third baby, that 12.49 is Ali’s fastest time since Doha and only 15-100ths of a second off her lifetime-best time.

The 12.49 is also her 4th-fastest time ever, behind the 12.34 in Doha, a 12.44 in the semifinals in Doha and a 12.48 at the 2013 U.S. Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

The only hurdler to run faster at 33 years old is Gail Devers, who was 33 years, 8 months, 14 days old when she ran 12.33 at the 2000 U.S. Championships in Sacramento. Ali is 33 months, 8 months and 2 days old – 12 days younger than Devers.

But when the final went off, Ali’s lane 6 was vacant. Harrison went on to win the final in a 2022 world-best 12.34.

There was no immediate word whether Ali is injured or why she scratched. But she did not need to place in the top two at the U.S. Championships to qualify for the World Championships because as the 2019 World Champion she has an automatic berth into the meet.

The 2022 World Athletics Championships are scheduled for July 15-24 back at Hayward Field. The first round of the hurdles is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. EST on July 23 with the semifinals and finals a day later at 8:05 p.m. and 10 p.m.