Editor’s note: This story on DJ Jónsson is Part 3 of a four-part series on Mississippi State track and field athletes competing in NCAA outdoor championships. Part 2 was published in Monday’s paper, and Part 4 will run in Wednesday’s paper.
For the past few months, Dagbjartur “DJ” Jónsson has been remarkably consistent throwing the javelin.
And that’s the problem.
Jónsson’s throws have all clocked in around the same distance. He’s posted marks of 76, 75, 75, 76 and 76 meters.
For a thrower whose personal best is 79.57 meters, Jónsson knows that won’t get it done.
“That’s the javelin,” Jónsson said. “You can be in the best shape of your life and still be kind of struggling with the technique and not quite hitting it. It can just be a matter of milliseconds if you hit an 85 or a 75.”
Jónsson will have to find the sweet spot to bring home first place at NCAA outdoor championships. The Mississippi State sophomore will compete at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon.
He’ll be trying to capture a title that barely eluded him in 2021. Jónsson’s 76.73-meter mark seemed good enough, but LSU’s Tzuriel Pedigo beat it on his final throw with a 76.98.
Jónsson’s final attempt, at 73.17, wasn’t enough. Pedigo won the event.
“It kind of sucked, but that’s the name of the game,” Jónsson said. “It wasn’t my best performance; I could have been better, so that’s on me.”
It was a moment that sparked the Reykjavik, Iceland, native to reach greater heights in his second season with the Bulldogs.
“It definitely lit a fire under me,” Jónsson said. “That was kind of a heartbreaking scene. Most people would be enthusiastic about that, but it was kind of heartbreaking.”
Jónsson, of course, is fully capable of eclipsing even Pedigo’s national title-winning mark. He has won three Icelandic titles in the event, coming out on top in 2017, 2020 and 2021.
His best-ever mark — the 79.57 — came at last year’s Icelandic championships.
“The throw wasn’t the best, to be honest, but I kind of hit it right and it was a nice wind, so it kind of floated on the wind,” Jónsson said. “It was great.”
In a way, Jónsson had to float on the wind to even compete in the event. He competed in nationals on June 9 in Eugene, drove that night to Portland and flew to Iceland on Thursday morning — five and a half hours to Boston, then another five and a half to his home country.
On Saturday, Jónsson flew to Akureyri for nationals and won the event later that day.
Of course, he’s used to unorthodox travel like that.
Javelin has taken him to South Africa, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia and pretty much everywhere else — including Starkville.
“I’ve been all over the globe with this javelin stuff, so that’s a real privilege to get to be able to go so many places and train and compete,” Jónsson said.
He thanked his parents, Jón Oddsson and Martha Ernstdóttir, for supporting him financially — javelin is “not a cheap sport by any means,” Jónsson said — and for helping him follow in their athletic footsteps. Oddsson competed with the Icelandic national team in track and field as well as soccer; Ernstdóttir ran the marathon in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
With his parents’ athletic background, Jónsson attended his first track practice when he was eight weeks old. Many others followed.
“When I learned to walk, I would be jumping in the sand pits,” he said. “I kind of grew up around the sport my whole life.”
Having a connection at Mississippi State helped attract Jónsson to Starkville. Sindri Guðmundsson, who finished second — right behind Jónsson — in Iceland in 2021, was already there.
Jónsson moved in with him, making his transition to a new continent a whole lot easier.
“It would be tougher if I didn’t have Sindri, who has been here for a lot of years, who I knew when I was back home,” Jónsson said. “Knowing somebody that is that good of a friend out here, it made it a lot easier.”
By teaming up with Guðmundsson, Jónsson has helped further the javelin tradition at Mississippi State. The school’s program, led by associate head coach April Thomas, has earned MSU the nickname “Jav U.”
“Coach April has done such a good job building that entire dynasty, I would like to call it,” Jónsson said. “I know it’s going to be here for years. I’m just happy to be able to contribute something to it.”
Jónsson already has. But he’s hoping for more.
“It will come,” he said. “The work is going to pay off, and hopefully it will do that next week.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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