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By CASEY GISCLAIR
By-U Sports Exclusive
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He stood on the runway and looked ahead at the field ahead of him – just like he used to do.
He made his move. The footwork still on point.
He got to the launch zone, wound his powerful right arm back and fired, launching the javelin high into the windy sky.
It didn’t go quite as far as he wanted, no. But it was still plenty enough to show the young bucks that this old dog still has a little bit left to his bite.
At age 40.
South Lafourche legend and Northwestern State University track and field legend Cody Fillinich returned this weekend and competed at the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational in Natchitoches – the first time in 17 years he competed at the event.
He won, launching a 217-foot throw, easily outclassing the runner-up by more than 20 feet.
Fillinich said to be back is a blessing, but he’s not done yet.
“It felt amazing,” he said of the chance to compete again after almost 2 decades away. “Even at a small meet like that. That is what I missed the most – being in that environment and competing.”
For Fillinich, he got ‘the itch’ to get on the comeback trail during one of the best weekends of his life.
Fillinich was inducted into the Northwestern State University Athletic Hall of Fame last fall and he said that when he returned to the campus for the Hall of Fame Induction, he got around the athletic facilities again and felt the need to try to come back.
“Several people there told me I looked like I could still chunk it,” Fillinich said with a laugh. “But when (Demons track coach Mike Heimerman) said it, I told him, ‘Dude, I’m about to be 40.’ He looked at me and said, ‘Exactly, you will be able to compete in the Master’s Division.’ That’s when the light bulb went off for me and I actually started training.”
The process was difficult but not as much as it could have been.
Fillinich stays in great physical shape. He has since college. He said he has worked out since college and was always afraid to be out of shape knowing how difficult it is to get back in shape.
But in October, he turned on the jets and started a javelin-specific regimen working out 5 days a week in an attempt to get back.
Fillinich the process of getting back into track shape has been extremely fulfilling and he is so grateful for the chance to compete.
He said his pie in the sky goal on Saturday was to break his stadium record of 73.09 meters, but added that more realistically, he wants to hit 71 meters, which would be the qualifying mark for the U.S. Championships for a person of any age.
With his throw of 66.15 meters, he already has qualified for the Masters U.S. Championship event in Geneva, Ohio.
Fillinich said that to the best of his knowledge, his throw this past weekend is the top throw in the world for any javelin thrower age 40 in the world for 2026.
From here, he said he hopes to keep going. He said he is eligible to compete in Southland meets throughout the year with his ultimate goal to try to compete at the LSU Meet in late-April where there will be several of the best throwers in the country.
“That’s the competition I want to be in,” Fillinich said.
The former Tarpon said he is grateful for the talents God gave him and he hopes to squeeze every bit of juice he has left in his powerful right arm.
“Last Saturday was definitely not my last meet,” he said. “I definitely want to keep going.”