JavFest returns to the Poconos. This year it's an international affair.
JavFest is coming back to the Poconos — and this year it's an international affair.
East Stroudsburg will host the seventh annual American JavFest on Friday and Saturday at East Stroudsburg South High School. The event features javelin competitions broken into age groups and features top competitors from around the United States at each level.
The festival has made East Stroudsburg a national hub for javelin, event organizer and South track and field coach Barry Krammes said. Olympic and World Champions headlined previous years' competitions, and this year will bring Australian thrower Cameron McIntyre to the Poconos.
Joining McIntyre in the men's competition will be returnee Curtis Thompson, who placed 21st in men's javelin at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Olympian Kara Winger — who placed 17th at the 2020 Games — will compete on the women's side.
The festival becomes another stop on Winger's retirement tour, as the 36-year-old plans to retire after the 2022 World Championship in Eugene, Oregon. The four-time Olympian and eight-time national champion long held the American women's javelin record before Maggie Malone twice set the record in 2021 — Malone set the current American record of 221 feet, 1 inch, at the 2021 JavFest.
Last year's event functioned as an "Olympic send-off" before the delayed 2020 Olympics. Thompson and fellow Olympians Maggie Malone and Michael Shuey competed in East Stroudsburg before heading off to Tokyo.
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JavFest's educational clinic for younger athletes will return after missing 2021's festival. Seven coaches — including Krammes, his mentor Jeff Gorski, two-time Olympian Sean Furey and 1996 Olympic finalist Tom Pukstys — will coach participants on technique and best practices for competing at the highest level.
Krammes, a two-time Olympic Trials finalist himself, has overseen JavFest since its inception in 2015.
Those interested in registering for JavFest can do so online for a $40 fee before the deadline at 8 p.m. Thursday. The Saturday clinic registration costs $50 and can be accessed on the Furey Athletics website until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: JavFest 2022: Curtis Thompson, Kara Winger headline Pocono event
