From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Big throw by Curtis Thompson late Saturday night at the USATF Throws Fetsival in Tucson.

Thompson won the javelin against a strong field with a 272-1 on his 1^st throw of the competition.

That is his 16^th-best throw all-time, his 24^rd lifetime throw of at least 270 feet and his 4^th-best 1^st throw of a competition. His two-best throws this year have come on his 1^st throw. He bombed a 279-11 – No. 3 in the world this year – at the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Okla., last month.

Thompson has thrown over 270 feet in each of his last three meets.

Thompson, a five-time U.S. champion and two-time Olympian, graduated from Florence High in 2014.

Thompson ranks 3^rd in U.S. history with his PR 287-11 at last year’s Texas Relays in Austin. That’s the best throw by an American since Breaux Greer’s 299-6 in Indianapolis in 2007.

Former Penn (and Georgia) NCAA champion Marc Anthony Minichello, the No. 7 all-time American with a 275-11 last month in Des Moines, Iowa, placed 2^nd with a 266-7 on his 2^nd throw. Minichello, who attended Wyoming Area High School in Exeter Borough, outside Scranton, is world No. 6 and U.S. No. 2 behind Thompson with his 275-11.

Thompson has a 20-6 all-time record in head-to-head matchups with Minichello.

279-11

Curtis Thompson All-Time 270-Foot Throws
287-11 … Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, March 28, 2025 [2^nd throw]
287-9 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [2^ndthrow]
286-2 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Freeport, Bahamas, Aug. 17, 2025 [2^nd throw]
284-4 … World Championships, Tokyo, Sept. 18, 2025 [1^st throw]
282-8 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2025 [3^rd throw]
279-11 … Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational, Ramona, Okla., April 10, 2026 [1^stthrow]
279-10 … World Championships, Tokyo, Sept. 18, 2025 [3^rd throw]
277-11 … World Championships qualifying, Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 17, 2025 [2^nd throw]
277-8 … Drake Relays, Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Idaho, April 23, 2026 [5^th throw]
276-11 … Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, March 28, 2025 [3^rd throw]
276-4 … NACAC, Freeport Stadium, Grand Bahamas, Bahamas, Aug. 20, 2022 [3^rd throw]
275-2 … USATF Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 31, 2025 [4^th throw]
274-11 … Athletissima, La Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland, Aug. 26, 2022 [1^st throw]
273-4 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 9, 2022 [1^stthrow]
272-5 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 23, 2024 [1^st throw]
272-1 … USATF Throws Festival, Roy P. Drachman Stadium, Tucson, Ariz., May 23, 2026 [1^st throw]
271-11… Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, July 4, 2016 [1^st throw]
271-10 … Spitzen Leichtathletik, Luzern, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2022 [3^rd throw]
271-9 … Texas Relays, Austin, Texas, March 28, 2025 [4^th throw]
271-7 … Olympic Trials, Hayward Field, Eugene, June 21, 2021 [6th throw]
271-0 … American JavFest, East Stroudsburg [Pa.] South High School, July 13, 2024 [1st throw]
270-6 … USATF Championships, Eugene, Ore., July 31, 2025 [6th throw]
270-3 … Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Invitational, Silesian Stadium, Chorzów, Poland, Aug. 6, 2022 [2nd throw]