Published: 10:58 EDT, August 8, 2024 | Updated: 11:17 EDT, August 8, 2024
Chari Hawkins’ chances of Olympic gold appeared to have ended after a serious error in the second event of the women’s heptathlon.
Ten Team USA star failed to complete three attempts at the high jump, scoring zero points in that event. Zero in any of the seven heptathlon events makes the path to victory nearly impossible.
Hawkins, realising the situation she was in, burst into tears against the barrier in front of the crowd at the Stade de France, shocked that her chances of winning gold were already over with five events remaining.
Hawkins, 33, is taking part in her first Olympicsand considering her age, this could certainly be her last performance, which made her defeat in the high jump all the more painful.
Hawkins chose her starting height for the event (1.71m) in hopes of having a high starting score. If she had gone any lower, it would have meant fewer points than she wanted, but not zero.
Chari Hawkins bursts into tears after failing three high jump attempts in Paris
Hawkins’ chances of winning a heptathlon medal are all but gone after her high jump mistakes
Hawkins managed to change the height of the high jump after his first two failed attempts, but he refused.
Hawkins not only wiped tears from her face, but she was also visibly shaking as she looked at the scoreboard and saw a zero next to her name for the high jump.
“Oh my God, oh my God, I don’t even know what to do,” Hawkins can be heard saying on the radio. “I’m literally in shock right now. No, no, no, no!”
Hawkins’ personal best in the heptathlon is 6,456 points, which was set earlier this year.
Zero means he won’t even come close to his best result and his rivals will be much stronger.
Hawkins scored 1,100 points in the first event of the heptathlon – the 110-meter hurdles – which gave him a good start.
Although Hawkins had the support of others after the high jump, she knows the path to winning a medal is now incredibly difficult.
