Florence’s Curtis Thompson had three 260-foot throws, including a 267-4, at the Neeraj Chopra Classic Saturday at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru in India’s Karnataka state.
The meet was put on by Chopra, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist and 2024 silver medalist.
Thompson’s 267-4 on his 5th attempt is his 4th-best throw this year and the 8th-best throw by an American. Thompson threw 287-11 in Austin in March, 268-11 in Ramona, Okla., in April and 268-10 in Rathrum, Idaho, last week. So his 267-4 was only 19 inches off his 2nd-best throw this year.
Thompson now has six of the top-10 throws this year by Americans and one-time Penn athlete Marc Minichello has three others.
287-11 … Curtis Thompson, Austin, March
271-2 … Mark Minichello, Tucson, Ariz., May 24
271-1 … Mark Minichello, Gainesville, Fla., April 4
270-2 … Mark Minichello, Tokyo, May 18
268-11 … Curtis Thompson, Ramona, Okla, April
268-9 … Donavon Banks, Tucson, May 24
268-10 … Curtis Thompson, Rathrum, Idaho, July 5
267-4 … Curtis Thompson, Bengaluru, India, July 5
265-4 … Curtis Thompson, Des Moines, April 24
265-2 … Curtis Thompson, Bengaluru, India, July 5
Thompson opened with a 260-4 and a 253-5 before the 265-2 on his 3rd throw. In the finals, he fouled, then threw the 267-4 before finishing with a foul.
Chopra won the competition with a 282-8 on his 3rd throw.
Chopra and Thompson are No. 2 and 3 in the world this year, Chopra with a 296-0 in Dhoa, Qatar, in May, and Thompson with his 287-11 in Austin.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 