Heptathlon runner Chari Hawkins scored zero points in the high jump event at the Paris Olympics for the USA team.
The women’s Heptathlon is a two-day event that consists of seven events: 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter run, running long (broad) jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run.
The heptathlon started on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024 with 100-meter hurdles. In this event, Hawkins scored 1100 points for Team USA. The second event was high jump. The high jump bar starts at the height of 1.56 meters and is increased 3 centimeters each time it is cleared by the athlete. The athlete then gets three attempts to pass.
Hawkins passed on doing 1.56m, 1.59m, 1.62m, 1.65m, and 1.68m. She decided to start with the height of 1.71m and failed at all three attempts to get over the bar, receiving zero points or “no height” for the high jump event, a fate that surprised her fans, and even herself.
Hawkins stated in a recent Instagram post, “I came into the high jump competition at a conservative height for me—one I can clear with my eyes closed and lower than all the bars I cleared in my warm up jumps.”
After scoring zero points in the high jump event, Hawkins said she was unsure if she should finish the Heptathlon. She decided to finish the heptathlon knowing there was no possibility of her medaling at the Olympics. Hawkins ended up finishing 21 out of 23 for Team USA.
Hawkins said this was a very hard choice for her to make on a clip posted to Instagram Sunday, Aug. 11, after the heptathlon was over. In the snippet, which was taken right after her high jump failure, Hawkins is gasping for words and shaking, not knowing what to do.
In the comments, fans were giving her lots of support. Many said they were proud that she decided to finish the event. Others said it showed a lot of courage and bravery that they found inspiring.
Following the heptathlon, Hawkins has been open about her experience at the Olympics on social media, showing how hard Olympic athletes must work mentally and physically to get to that level. In doing so, Hawkins’ story is seen as an inspiration for all athletes.
