Marco Arop, Curtis Thompson and Navasky Anderson may be representing their respective home countries when they compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. But they all will be representing Mississippi State as well, becoming the latest in a long pipeline of track and field athletes from Starkville to the Olympics.
Arop, the reigning world champion in the 800 meters, is making his second Olympic appearance after a disappointing 14th-place finish in the event in Tokyo three years ago. Born in Sudan, Arop emigrated to Canada as a child with his family and competes for Canada in international competitions.
With the Bulldogs, he finished second in the 800 at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. His personal best time in the event is 1:42.85, the Canadian national record, set last September.
Thompson, who grew up in New Jersey and competes for the United States, won the NCAA javelin title for MSU in 2016 and has three national javelin championships in his career. Paris will be Thompson’s second Olympic appearance, and he is coming off a gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Anderson, a Jamaican middle-distance runner, will compete with Arop in the 800. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, Anderson finished in second place and set the Jamaican national record at 1:45.02 before breaking that record last July with a time of 1:44.70. He is now off to the Olympics for the first time in his career.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
