Burlington County Sending Two Athletes to 2024 Paris Olympic Games

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Burlington County residents have a chance to cheer on two hometown athletes when the 2024 Paris Olympic Games opens this week.

Curtis Thompson of Florence will be competing in the javelin and Paxten Aaronson of Medford will be competing in soccer for Team USA.

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The 2024 Games will be Thompson's second Olympics, as he represented the United States in Tokyo in 2021, where he placed 22nd. He qualified for this year's Olympics by winning the men's javelin throw finals at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on June 23.

.A 2014 graduate of Florence Township Memorial High School, Thompson competed in multiple events for the Flashes, including throwing the discus, javelin and shot put, and he also triple-jumped and played football. Thompson lettered for all four years of high school and was selected as the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year his Senior year. After graduating high school, Thompson went on to major in mathematics at Mississippi State University, where he won the NCAA title in 2016 and the U.S. National Title at the USATF Championship in 2018. He has been coaching track and field at Spain Park High School in Birmingham, AL for the past five years.

Despite his successes on the world stage, Thompson has never forgotten where he comes from.

Before heading to Paris, Thompson this week visited several Florence departments and shared stories with the Township's police officers, firefighters and administrative staff about his competition journey through his high school, college and professional career. "Checking out the Gold Medal from the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon was an amazing opportunity and we are ready to join our community in cheering on Curtis and the rest of TEAM USA!" said Florence Township officials.

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Thompson also toured Amazon ABE8 and expressed his thanks for its sponsorship of the "Go Curtis Go/Florence Proud" signs that residents have been displaying in their yards and homes throughout the past two weeks.

On Tuesday night, Thompson was escorted by the Florence Township Police and Fire Departments throughout the streets of Florence as he departed New Jersey on his way to Paris. "Thank you, Florence, for the love!! I will always have love and appreciation for our town," Thompson posted on an Instagram story after the parade.

"Travel soon begins, it is not just me making the journey to Paris, it will be accompanied by all the love and support from everyone," Thompson wrote on an Instagram post this week. "I truly appreciate everything from the donations given, t-shirts and signs bought and the words of encouragement messaged and commented. I'm honored and excited to represent so many (Florence, NJ, Spain Park, AL, Mississippi State and the rest of the USA). I look forward to having ya'll tuned in with me!!"

The Men’s Javelin Throw competition begins with Qualifying rounds on Tuesday, August 6 at 4:20a.m. EST. Florence Township plans to hold a viewing party for the competition, with details to be determined.

While the 2024 Games will be Paxten Aaronson's first Olympics, it is not his first time representing the United States.

He made his first international appearance for the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) in 2023 against Colombia and has played for the USMNT at the U-20 and U-23 levels. Aaronson spent his youth career at the Philadelphia Union and is the younger brother of fellow United States international, Brendan Aaronson. He is currently contracted to German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.

The U.S. Men's Soccer Team kicked off their Olympic journey on Wednesday afternoon when they lost to France who scored three goals to USA's nil.

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