“Can I throw that stick thing?”: How Curtis Thompson found javelin by accident

In another life, Curtis Thompson would have been an American footballer.

In an even more unlikely alternate world, where Thompson leaned further into his maternal heritage, he could have been a badminton player — a curious scenario, considering he is a six-foot-tall, 102-kilo American of Jamaican descent.

But in this reality, Thompson thrives as a professional javelin thrower, ranked among the world’s best. As we reach the midpoint of the year, he sits third in the global standings, behind Germany’s Julian Weber and India’s Neeraj Chopra.

Only two Americans have ever thrown farther than Thompson — and many believe he could finally end the nation’s 50-year wait for an Olympic javelin medal.

Still, things could have gone very differently. Growing up in New Jersey, he explored a variety of sports with restless curiosity — including badminton thanks to a family connection.

“My mom’s side is from Jamaica, and there were a few who played badminton, which is one of the sports we played at cookouts or get-togethers,” says Thompson over a video call from Alabama.

“Outside of playing football, I also tried basketball and baseball. I gave soccer a try when I was little, but didn’t like it. And then when I got to high school, I played basketball, football and track.

“Over the years, I would drop one sport. I stopped basketball after my second year of high school. And then after my third year, I stopped playing football and just focused on javelin,” he says.

He traces the transition to a serendipitous moment in high school, when he initially took up track to improve his football speed. One day, disillusioned by the repetition of sprint drills, he walked over to the javelin coach and asked, “Can I throw that stick thing?”

That throw sparked a chain reaction. He quickly surged through the ranks, establishing himself as the top javelin thrower in the country.

“By the end of my junior year, I had gone over 200 feet and became the number one US thrower at that time. That was the moment I realised I am good at it,” says Thompson.

He was also nudged toward javelin by the toll football was taking on his body.

“Football is a very rough sport. It’s a lot of contact. And once I started javelin and saw the path, I just stuck with it. I knew that was going to be what I would do in college and beyond. I realised javelin is kinder than football, health-wise,” he adds.

Like many javelin throwers, YouTube was his first coach.

“To start, it was a lot of YouTube. After a year, I went to a javelin clinic and gained some technical ideas. First, it was just get out there and throw it. The clinic allowed me to learn. Slowly, I added small technical things over and over,” he says.

After cutting his teeth on the national circuit and entering the global stage, Thompson’s breakthrough came in 2023 when he won gold at the Pan American Games.

In 2025, he raised his level with a personal best throw of 87.76m in Texas — the world-leading mark for nearly two months before Neeraj and Weber overtook it.

Thompson credits that throw to finding his “zone.”

“It was one of those days where everything kind of hit right. There was less thinking going into it; it was more of reacting.”

One of the keys to his recent improvement has been switching from the American grip to the Finnish one — the preferred choice of many elite throwers globally. The Finnish grip, with an extended index finger, offers more control and power.

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“I was curious about it and decided to go Finnish. It just worked for me right at the beginning of the season. So I kind of just stuck with it.”

Coach Curtis

From an Indian lens, shaped by the underfunded nature of athletics, the USA might appear to offer abundant opportunity. But for a niche sport like javelin, the trickle-down effect hasn’t fully taken hold. Even for someone as accomplished as Thompson, making ends meet is a challenge.

“You have to figure out how to pay bills, on top of funding your season. We do have athletes who get support from the government, which is great. But it’s tough on the development side if you’re not quite at that level.

“You have to work those jobs to make money so that you can attend meets. I’m hoping that before my career is done, it will come to a point where our top athletes can just train and compete.”

Fortunately, his secondary vocation keeps him connected to his passion. As an athletics coach at Spain Park High School in Alabama, Thompson finds renewal in teaching the sport to others.

“Coaching kids reminds you of some of the basics that you tend to forget by the time you get to that top level. Also, there’s a type of joy in coaching the youth and watching their passion grow for something that you’ve learned to grow, love and enjoy.”

That joy comes at a cost. Coaching eats into his training, and he has to fine-tune his routine to stay aligned with his javelin goals.

High on that list is the Los Angeles Games. The USA’s last Olympic javelin medal came in 1972 — a bronze for Bill Schmidt. “I am excited for 2028. That’s going to be a big one. And to have the opportunity to win a medal in the US is something I’m looking forward to.”

Also within reach is the 90m mark — a distance only one American, Breaux Greer (PB: 91.29m, Indianapolis, 2007), has ever surpassed.

But beyond medals and milestone throws, Thompson’s ultimate goal is bigger. “One of the things that I want is to have the US pop up in conversation whenever anybody talks about javelin. I also hope that by the time I’m done, the US javelin standard rises.

“We need guys who are striving not just for the 80-metre mark, but go beyond that. So, if I can do that, then I’ll be satisfied, even if I don’t get a medal or anything. But of course, would love to win a few.”

Next up is his first trip to India, for the Neeraj Chopra Classic in July — another country added to a globe-trotting career that still surprises him.

“Javelin has taken me to so many places that I never would have. I think if you pick up a sport and get to this level, it will help you see the world while doing your job. There have been plenty of places that I’ve gone to and realised, ‘I probably never would have been here if I wasn’t throwing a javelin,’” says Thompson.