Chari Hawkins at the World Athletics Championships. Budapest 2023. - Source: Getty

What happened to Chari Hawkins at Paris Olympics? All about what reduced the 33-year-old heptathlete to tears

Modified Aug 08, 2024 18:18 GMT

Chari Hawkins competed in the women's heptathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After putting forward a great performance in the hurdles, Hawkins scored a massive 1100 points in the opening event in Paris. However, the American athlete could not clear 1.71m in the high jump, ultimately scoring zero points in the event due to which she was eliminated from the heptathlon at the quadrennial Games in Paris.

Her teammates, Anna Hall and Taliyah Brooks cleared the height in the first attempt and advanced to the next rounds of the women's heptathlon. After the results were displayed on the screen, Chari Hawkins was in disbelief and broke down in tears upon finding out that she had not qualified for the high jump event.

"Oh my gosh. I don't even know what to do. I'm like literally so shocked right now. No," she said.

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Some fans also expressed their displeasure about the fact that the 33-year-old was being filmed in such a vulnerable state, with one fan writing,

"I get that the camera men want to capture major moments at the Olympics but there’s something so sinister about keeping the camera on Chari Hawkins as she found out that news the ENTIRE TIME," a fan wrote.

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Chari Hawkins on competing at the Paris Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympic Games - Day 13 - Athletics - Source: Getty

Chari Hawkins spoke about competing and qualifying for her first Olympic games in Paris. After missing out on making the U.S. Olympic team by a small margin, Hawkins expressed that she had given up the dream of becoming an Olympian.

"There was a point in 2021 where I wasn't sure if I was going to go for it again. There was this part of me that was like, 'Dang, even if I make more Team USA teams, I'm not going to be able to say that I was an Olympian. It was so heartbreaking for me," she said (via ncaa.org)

She talked about the change of perspective after finishing second in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials for the Paris Olympics and said:

"I don't know if I will ever really settle into the fact that it ended up happening. To really look back at that heartbreak and that pain and to see it come full circle and me being able to finally say that I'm an Olympian — it's really cool, really humbling and super, super emotional. It's awesome."

Hawkins further said that the qualification was a culmination of the hard work that she had put in over the years as an athlete.