Five Bulldog Alumni To Compete In Olympic Track And Field

PARIS, France – Mississippi State's track and field program has sent five men to the Paris Olympic Games, competing in three events and representing five different nations.

Marco Arop (CAN) and Navasky Anderson (JAM) make MSU the only school in the nation with two athletes in the men's 800m. State also provides two-thirds of the NCAA representation in the men's javelin with Anderson Peters (GRN) and Curtis Thompson (USA). Lee Eppie (BOT) rounds out the athletes in Paris as a member of the 4x400m relay pool. Head coach Chris Woods will serve as an assistant coach for Canada, guiding Arop.

Track and field competition begins on Thursday, Aug. 1, but Bulldogs won't compete until Tuesday, Aug. 6 when the men's javelin gets underway.

Two pairs of Bulldogs were roommates during their time in Starkville. Arop and Peters lived together in 2019, and Anderson and Eppie were roommates this year. Arop and Anderson are training partners in Starkville as well.

Mississippi State has won four Olympic medals in track and field, with three coming in the 4x400m relay, but the Bulldogs' last medal came in 2000. If any State athlete were to win gold, they'd be the first from their respective country to do so in their respective event since at least 1952.

Dedicated event streams are available on Peacock. NBC and its affiliated networks will offer "whiparound" coverage and event replays. Results will be available on Olympics.com along with MSU's State to Paris webpage and social media feeds.

For more information on the Bulldog track and field program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateTF."

Bulldog Bios

Navasky Anderson (Jamaica)

Personal Best: 1:44.70 (July 30, 2023) | Season Best: 1:45.29 (May 11) | World Rankings: 67th World; 1st JAM

Will make his Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games ... won the 2024 Jamaican Championship in the 800m ... previously represented his country at the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships, 2023 Pan American Games and 2022 Commonwealth Games ... won bronze in the 800m at the 2023 Pan American Games ... holds the Jamaican national record in the men's 800m both indoors and outdoors ... broke the Jamaican national record in the 800m for the first time at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships where he was the national runner-up ... bettered the previous mark which had stood for 45 years ... was the 2022 SEC Outdoor Champion in his event ... three-time All-American ... holds three top-five marks in MSU history in the indoor and outdoor 800m and the indoor mile.

Marco Arop (Canada)

Personal Best: 1:42.85 (Sept. 17, 2023) | Season Best: 1:42.93 (July 12) | World Rankings: 2nd World; 1st CAN

Made his second career Olympic team and will compete at the Paris 2024 Games ... clocked an Athletics Canada Championships record 1:43.53 in the 800m while qualifying for Paris ... ran the second leg on Canada's 4x400m relay at the 2024 World Athletics Relays ... won the 2023 World Athletics Championship in the 800m ... reached world No. 1 ranking for the first time in his career in June 2023 ... took bronze in the 800m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships ... became first Canadian man to medal at the World Championships in the 800m since Gary Reed in 2007 ... competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games ... won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games ... two-time NCAA runner-up ... four-time Athletics Canada champion ... holds Canadian national records in the 800m both indoors and outdoors ... holds MSU's 800m school records indoors and outdoors and State's freshman record.

Lee Eppie (Botswana)

Personal Best (400m): 45.39 (June 23, 2024) | Season Best (400m): 45.39 (June 23) | World Rankings: 107th World; 5th BOT

Will make his Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games as a member of Botswana's relay pool ... Botswana's men's 4x400m relay qualified by winning the World Athletics Relays in The Bahamas, clocking a then-world-leading 2:59.11 ... won a silver medal in the 400m at the 2024 African Championships, finishing in a lifetime-best 45.39 ... ran on four of the five fastest indoor 4x400m relays in school history ... was an indoor All-American in the 4x400m relay in 2022 ... ran at the 2023 NCAA East Prelims in the 400m, falling two places shy of advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships ... clocked a collegiate-best 45.89 to win the 400m at the 2023 Crimson Tide Invitational ... finished third in the 400m at the Botswana Athletic Association meet in 2023, winning his finals heat ... also competed in the 4x400m at that event, running the third leg for a Botswana team that finished second in 3:04.49 ... won a silver medal at the 2017 African U-20 Championships as a member of Botswana's 4x400m relay team.

Anderson Peters (Grenada)

Personal Best: 93.07m (May 13, 2022) | Season Best: 86.62m (May 10) | World Rankings: 6th World; 1st GRN

Will compete in the javelin at the Paris 2024 Olympics ... made his Olympic debut in the javelin at the 2020 Tokyo Games ... won his fourth Grenadian championship in 2024 ... three-time Diamond League winner in the javelin ... won gold at the 2022 and 2019 World Athletics Championships ... became just the second man to ever win back-to-back world championships in the javelin and the first since 1995 ... threw a lifetime best 93.07m in the 2022 Diamond League Doha meeting to break his own Grenada national record and climb to fifth in world history ... won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games ... five-time CARIFTA Games Champion ... Austin Sealy award winner ... two-time NCAA and SEC Champion ... won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Continental Cup ... named 2018 SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year ... two-time semifinalist for The Bowerman.

Curtis Thompson (United States)

Personal Best: 87.70m (July 9, 2022) | Season Best: 83.04m (June 23) | World Rankings: 10th World; 1st USA

Qualified for his second Olympic team in the javelin and is bound for the Paris 2024 Games ... made his Olympic debut in the javelin at the 2020 Tokyo Games ... four-time USATF Champion in 2024, 2021 and 2018 ... threw a lifetime best 87.70m at the 2022 American JavFest, which ranked third all-time by an American man ... won silver at the 2018 NACAC Championships ... represented the United States at the Pan American Games and The Match Europe vs. USA in 2019 and the 2019 Athletics World Cup ... U.S. Olympic Trials Champion in 2016 ... Mississippi State's first NCAA Champion in the javelin in 2016 ... NCAA runner-up in 2019.

Olympic Track & Field Schedule (all times CT)

Tuesday, Aug. 6

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
3:20 a.m./4:50 a.m.	Men's Javelin Qualifying	Anderson Peters Curtis Thompson	GRN USA	Peacock

Wednesday, Aug. 7

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
4:55 a.m.	Men's 800m First Round	Navasky Anderson Marco Arop	JAM CAN	USA Network Replay: NBC at 8:20 a.m.

Thursday, Aug. 8

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
5 a.m.	Men's 800m Repechage*	Navasky Anderson Marco Arop	JAM CAN	USA Network Replay: NBC at 8 a.m.
1:25 p.m.	Men's Javelin Final^	Anderson Peters Curtis Thompson	GRN USA	Peacock

*if necessary | ^participation dependent upon qualification

Friday, Aug. 9

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
4:05 a.m.	Men's 4x400m Relay Heats	Lee Eppie	BOT	USA Network
4:30 a.m.	Men's 800m Semifinals*	Navasky Anderson Marco Arop	JAM CAN	Peacock

*participation dependent upon qualification

Saturday, Aug. 10

Time	Event	Athletes	Country	Watch
12:25 p.m.	Men's 800m Final*	Navasky Anderson Marco Arop	JAM CAN	NBC
2:12 p.m.	Men's 4x400m Relay Final*	Lee Eppie	BOT	NBC

*participation dependent upon qualification

Mississippi State University Athletics

Five Bulldog Alumni To Compete In Olympic Track And Field

Players Mentioned

Navasky Anderson

Marco Arop

Lee Eppie

Anderson Peters

Curtis Thompson

Chris Woods

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