JOURNAL SPORTS
EUGENE, Oregon – Captain Shreve product Donavon Banks has greatly increased his chances for making the 2024 Paris Olympics when on Sunday, the Shreveport native placed third in the men’s javelin finals at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials.
A former McNeese All-America competitor, Banks threw 259-feet, 9-inches (79.19 meters), that coming on his first of six throws, and held off the rest of the field to finish in the top three. He’s looking to become the first America-born athlete from McNeese to qualify for the Olympics and earn a spot on Team USA.
No American has met the Olympic javelin standard of 280-feet, 5-inches (85.50 meters). Banks has come close, throwing 82.90 in Arizona last month which currently ranks him 19th in the world.
According to the Olympic rules, a non-standard meeting athlete must rank in the top 30 in the world to qualify for the Olympics.
Banks threw all four years at McNeese and earned two degrees. He won the 2018 Southland Conference javelin title and finished second in 2021, 2017 and 2016. He qualified to the NCAA East First Round all four seasons and finished 14th at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
Curtis Thompson won the Olympic Trials with a throw of 272-5 followed by Capers Williamson at 261-0, edging Banks by just over a foot.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will begin on July 26 and run until August 11. The javelin qualification rounds will take place on August 6.