Peters Wins Javelin Bronze, First Bulldog To Medal In A Field Event

Thursday, August 8

Anderson Peters (GRN)

1:25 PM

Mississippi State

Men's Javelin Final

Photo by: Getty Images

Peters Wins Javelin Bronze, First Bulldog To Medal In A Field Event

August 08, 2024 | Track & Field, Olympic Games

Official Results

By: Brian Ogden, Associate Director/Communications

PARIS, France – Mississippi State's Anderson Peters won Olympic bronze in the javelin on Thursday, throwing 88.54m.

His performance earned State's first ever medal in a field event and its first Olympic medal since Jude Monye (NGR) won gold in the 4x400m relay in 2000. Additionally, Peters is the first Grenadian athlete to win a medal in a throwing event. The island nation entered the Paris Games with three total medals, all in the men's 400m, but has now added bronze medals in both the decathlon and javelin.

Peters came from behind to claim his first career Olympic medal. Through the first three rounds, he sat in fourth place with a mark of 87.87m. After trimming the field to the top eight competitors for the final, Peters launched his medal-winning throw in the fourth round. That proved to be just enough to surpass Jakub Vadlejch (CZE) for the podium.

The Olympic record fell on Thursday as well. Gold medalist Arshad Nadeem (PAK) recorded a personal-best 92.97m throw that was more than two meters beyond the previous standard. Neeraj Chopra (IND), the reigning gold medalist from Tokyo, took home silver with an 89.45m throw. Notably, this was the first Olympic Games since 2004 where a throw beyond 86.00m did not make the podium.

The bronze medal adds to Peters' impressive resume. He won back-to-back NCAA Championships in his two years at Mississippi State in 2018 and 2019. Peters turned pro after winning his first world championship in 2019, a title he successfully defended in 2022. In May of that year, he recorded the No. 5 mark in world history at 93.07m. While in college, Peters set the NCAA record with an 86.62m throw at his final NCAA Championship meet, and to date, he still holds five of the top 10 collegiate throws on record.

The Soubise, St. Andrew, native was part of the second NCAA men's javelin podium sweep in history, when MSU took the top three spots in 2019, cementing its #JavU nickname. Standing on the podium beside him was American Olympian Curtis Thompson, who won an NCAA title of his own in 2016. Those two men were two-thirds of the NCAA representation in the men's javelin at this year's Olympics.

Peters will receive his medal on Friday at 12:07 p.m. CT before the afternoon's track events begin. For more information on the Paris Olympic Games visit MSU's State to Paris webpage and social media feeds.

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