Chari Hawkins: ‘I’m valuable, I’m worthy, I’m having fun’

REXBURG — She is Rexburg homegrown, a wife, nan astir dressed up female jock to ever postgraduate from Utah State University and an Olympic heptathlete. Chari Hawkins has had a afloat diversion travel pinch hardships and successes, and she is sharing nan lessons she’s learned on nan way.

“I ever show group who really want to beryllium an Olympian — I don’t attraction really aged you are. I opportunity that it takes 2 things, it takes being patient and it takes ne'er giving up,” Hawkins said. “And that’s benignant of it … if you want to adhd a 3rd thing, you, benignant of, request to cognize what you want to do.”

Thirty-three-year-old Hawkins has ever had dreams of making it to nan Olympics, moreover aft she’d competed connected a world shape 4 times. During nan times of nan pandemic successful 2021, erstwhile Hawkins’ hopes of qualifying for nan Olympics were high, she didn’t suffice for nan Tokyo Olympic team. Although she knowledgeable a individual group back, nan jock says she fto her worry substance her.

“I deliberation I was successful a abstraction of, ‘Holy smokes. I’m ne'er going to beryllium capable to opportunity I was an Olympian,’” she said. “It’s very interesting, because again, really I opportunity my worry brought maine to nan Olympics, not making nan Tokyo squad made maine truthful overmuch amended because I had truthful overmuch much to push for. I dream that group tin spot that times that they possibly don’t get what they want mightiness beryllium precisely what they request to get to them genuinely to their fullest potential.”

After pushing done for a fewer much years, she continued to amended until her Olympic dreams became a reality. Hawkins took 2nd successful nan Women’s Heptathlon astatine nan Olympic Qualifiers successful Eugene Oregon, and was officially connected Team USA for nan Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She says erstwhile she first arrived successful Paris nan power was palpable.

Photo courtesy Chari Hawkins

“It was beautiful electric” Hawkins said. “Throughout nan city, location was a buzz. Throughout nan Olympic Village, location was a buzz. … That worldly is contagious. So your power is conscionable connected 10 astatine each times.”

She had precocious hopes of a stellar capacity but, arsenic destiny would person it, immoderate heartbreaking mishaps and behind-the-scenes chaos near her scoring astatine nan bottommost of nan pack.

During nan heptathlon, location are 7 events: 100 meters hurdles, precocious jump, changeable put, 200 meters, agelong jump, javelin propulsion and 800 meters.

After nan 100-meter hurdles, Hawkins had placed 5th successful that arena retired of 22 athletes. When she moved connected to nan precocious jump, a beardown arena for Hawkins, she received an NM aliases ‘no mark’ which intends nan jock is awarded nary points successful that arena aft each attempts are unsuccessful. She passed connected nan opening 5 heights and grounded to clear nan barroom astatine 1.71 meters (5.61 feet) successful 3 attempts, a tallness she says she’s ne'er missed — successful truth she precocious released a video demonstration clearing nan height.

“That was a barroom that I tin clear from a short attack — easy clear from a short approach. Actually, I had a awesome warm-up. I didn’t miss a barroom successful warm-ups,” Hawkins said.

With nan unit of an Olympic stage, Murphy’s Law took effect, and everything that could spell incorrect did.

“There’s 2 precocious jump mats and they had a surface connected each mat that they had switched and I was looking astatine nan incorrect board,” Hawkins said.

Because of nan chaos down nan scenes, Hawkins says she wasn’t informed of who was connected platform aliases of her move successful nan rotation of athletes.

“I thought I still had 3 bars to go, and each of a abrupt 1 of my teammates came up and said, ‘Chari you’re up. You gotta spell girl, correct now,'” Hawkins said.

In that infinitesimal of adrenaline, Hawkins took disconnected nan outer furniture of her cogwheel and went for it.

“I deliberation pinch each that other adrenaline I overran my people and deed nan bar,” Hawkins said. “I dislike telling that communicative because it makes it look for illustration it was this excuse. It was a very chaotic point for maine specifically. As an athlete, it is my occupation to make judge that I’m alert of everything that’s going on, and pinch specified a chaotic situation that’s what happened. … Even pinch chaos, I tin clear that bar, I didn’t clear nan bar, I had to look to consequences, which intends you get a zero successful nan precocious jump.”

RELATED | Hawkins showed nan grit of a champion, finishing her arena pursuing a zero-score precocious jump

Hawkins says because nan precocious jump is specified a high-scoring event, it took a batch of points disconnected of her wide people pushing her to nan bottommost of nan rankings. Even pinch this hardship, Hawkins decided to enactment and decorativeness her past 5 events.

“I took into relationship each of nan group that came to watch maine compete. … The 30 group that came, they didn’t travel truthful that they could watch maine triumph a medal, they came to watch maine compete astatine nan Olympics and truthful I did it for them. For each of nan group who were cheering maine connected from each complete nan world, they were truthful proud of maine for being connected nan Olympic stage, I did it for them,” she said. “I had 5 much opportunities to beryllium connected an Olympic shape that dang adjacent cipher gets.”

Hawkins said, she didn’t want to beryllium a ‘bummer’ for her teammates and family and that she wanted to spell retired pinch her full bosom and proceed to bring everybody up.

“I will opportunity it was 1 of nan toughest things I’ve ever done because I’ve ne'er been successful nan mediate of grieving while besides having to measurement retired and beryllium nan champion type of me,” she said.

Throughout her diversion career, Hawkins has knowledgeable galore hardships and had formerly attached her worth to her competitory performances. Her individual mantra, she explained, erstwhile she’s faced adversity successful sports is, “I’m worthy, I’m valuable, I’m having fun, and this doesn’t matter successful nan large strategy of things.”

“I really person learned a batch astir Paris and my travel is simply a batch of group who person told maine that my being capable to travel backmost done hardship for illustration that really resonated pinch them and what they’re going done and that’s what’s truthful typical astir sports sometimes, is that it tin springiness america specified life lessons,” Hawkins said.

Post-Olympics, Hawkins says she and her hubby C.J. O’Neal haven’t made a determination astir continuing pinch way for different season. The mates ne'er commits to much than 1 play astatine a time, she explained.

Hawkins says she is looking guardant to nan Utah State Homecoming shot crippled connected Oct. 11, and to continuing to stock her stories, speaking events, and possibly a imaginable book to travel retired successful 2025.

“Right now, it’s conscionable astir seeing friends and eating nutrient that I’m not allowed to have, really, and each of that benignant of stuff, each of nan nosy stuff,” she said. “Then we’ll make that determination erstwhile nan clip comes.”

Follow Hawkins connected her societal media platforms pages — Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.