Thompson And Peters Give Thomas A ‘Super Bowl’ Moment
August 05, 2024 | Track & Field, Joel Coleman, Olympic Games
Associate head track coach April Thomas will be watching the Paris Olympics more intently than most.
STARKVILLE – Do you remember how, earlier this year at the Super Bowl, Donna Kelce sported a split jersey? One son played for the Philadelphia Eagles. The other was a Kansas City Chief. There's no playing favorites as a mom, so you do what you have to do.
April Thomas can relate. The Mississippi State associate head track and field coach is going to feel much the same way early on Tuesday morning and hopefully longer.
Curtis Thompson and Anderson Peters – a pair of Thomas' former Mississippi State pupils – will compete in the javelin at the Paris Olympic Games. Thompson will throw during a qualifying round that begins at 3:20 a.m. CT, while Peters will follow in a window that begins at 4:50 a.m. CT.
Meanwhile, Thomas will be back in the U.S. channeling her inner Donna Kelce.
"I thought, 'I need something [like Kelce wore]," Thomas said. "This week is my Super Bowl, and it's kind of like the house divided. [It's] like I'm pitting my two sons against each other a little bit."
To hear their story, it's no surprise there are some maternal feelings that come from Thomas regarding Thompson and Peters. Thomas helped the two athletes become two of the best in the entire world at what they do. In return, the talented duo helped Thomas become the driving force and brilliant mind behind Mississippi State's reputation as JavU.
"Having the two of them in Starkville at the same time was a learning experience for me," Thomas said. "Javelin was the one throw I didn't compete in [personally]. I didn't know anything about jav. I knew there was this stick, and you run, plant and throw. That's about all I knew about it coming into coaching."
A whole lot of homework and talent like Thompson and Peters changed everything for Thomas. She read articles, watched old videos, went to conventions, shadowed coaches and absorbed everything she could about the javelin. She then put what she learned into practice.
If there was a learning curve, the talent possessed by Thompson and Peters certainly got Thomas around it quickly. Thompson and Peters both won NCAA titles while at Mississippi State, and the pair were part of State's men's javelin podium sweep at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. That sweep stands as one of just 12 podium sweeps in the history of the outdoor championships, and only two have come in the men's javelin.
Thompson was actually State's first-ever NCAA champ in men's javelin back in 2016. Peters followed in his footsteps with titles in 2018 and 2019.
The two have only added to their accolades beyond MSU. Both competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in addition to multiple other world championships and event wins between them.
While their careers have skyrocketed, Thomas has continued to hone others' crafts at MSU. All the while though, she has her eyes firmly planted on Thompson and Peters.
Thomas was watching on intently when Thompson and Peters competed a few years back at the Tokyo Games.
"Unfortunately, Tokyo didn't end in the way they wanted, but it was good to be able to see them in the Olympics and throwing on the biggest stage," Thomas said. "I wish I could've been in Tokyo last time, but those two guys probably could've heard me from here. I got up early that morning to watch them throw, and when I watch them, I'm doing everything. I'm screaming at them. I'm fussing at them. I'm being a coach, but at the same time, I'm like screaming, 'You can do this! You've got this! Let's go eat!' I'm going through all the motions.
"For me, [watching them on such a stage] is both stressful and a chance to relax and enjoy the moment."
And, again like Mama Kelce, Thomas really has zero preference for which of her guys outperforms the other when the lights are the brightest.
"You don't want either one of them to beat each other, but, you know, one of them has to beat the other," Thomas said. "I'm just hoping – you know, it'd be good to see them go one, two, regardless of the order."
Thomas is simply proud she has had the opportunity to have played a part in Thompson's and Peters' journey back to the world's biggest stage. Safe to say, it's been a very mutually beneficial relationship that'll keep on having lasting effects in Starkville and far beyond.
"Curtis and Anderson made me a better coach," Thomas said. "I knew that on day one if I wanted to continue to do well, I had to study and learn from them at the same time. They are elite level javelin throwers, so if they say something, they know what they're talking about. And the fact that they trusted me meant a lot. It opened the doors for other great throwers to follow in their footsteps. They'll just have some big shoes to fill."
Players Mentioned
