EUGENE, Oregon – McNeese graduate and All-American javelin thrower Donavon Banks increased his chances greatly to making the Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics when on Sunday, the Shreveport native placed third in the finals at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials.
 
Banks threw 79.19m (259-feet, 9-inches), 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 standard of 85.50 meters, or 280-feet, 5-inches. Banks has come close, throwing 82.90 in Arizona last month which currently ranks him 19^th 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 14^th at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
 
Curtis Thompson won the Olympic Trials with a throw of 272-5 followed by Capers Williamson at 261-0 and edging out 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.
 
Cowboy sprinter Jalon White will make his attempt at the Olympics for Team Canada next week when he runs in the mixed relays at the Canadian Olympic Trials.