Chari Hawkins’ journey to the Olympic Games | Sports

LOGAN, Utah – A dream is coming true for track & field star Chari Hawkins. The former Aggie takes the world stage on Aug. 8 and 9 as she competes in the women’s heptathlon at the Paris Olympic Games in her first Olympic appearance.

The opportunity to compete is the fulfillment of a life-long dream she had almost given up on three years ago. Amid scorching heat at the pandemic-postponed U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Tokyo 2020 in Eugene, Oregon, Hawkins finished sixth with 6,236 points, three spots out of the top three that would go on to represent the U.S. in Japan.

At the time, she thought it may have been her last chance to earn the title of Olympian.

“There was a point in 2021 where I wasn’t sure if I was going to go for it again,” Hawkins said. “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.”

But Hawkins persevered. She made the Team USA roster for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. There she placed eighth with a personal best of 6,366 points.

Riding that momentum, Hawkins returned to Eugene in June and set personal bests in the shot put (14.67 meters, 48-1.75), javelin (49.28 meters, 161-8) and 800 meters (2:14.76) on her way to a career-best 6,456 points to win the silver medal and secure a spot on Team USA and the revered title of Olympian.

“I don’t know if I will ever really settle into the fact that it ended up happening,” Hawkins said. “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.”

Qualifying wasn’t the result of some incredible breakthrough or realization for Hawkins. It was the culmination of a long journey taken step-by-step. She compared the process to a pivotal scene in the 2008 animated movie, ‘“Kung Fu Panda.”

“I think we as athletes — we always assume there’s going to be this weird knowledge that we just happen to learn. ‘Oh, there’s going to be something that makes all the difference and that’s the thing that I’m going to learn and then I’ll be able to be good enough,’” she said. “Like ‘Kung-Fu Panda,’ how he opens the dragon scroll and there’s nothing there — It’s just like this thing that there’s no secret ingredient. It’s really about your journey and your natural progression over time and your development over time.”

It was the “tiny little lessons” Hawkins learned over time that made her an Olympian.

“Realistically, what it really is about is those teeny, tiny, little lessons that we learn every single day in and out of practice all the time and us really being able to capitalize on those,” Hawkins said. “Always being curious to learn the next tiny, little thing. And it’s all the little things that really add up. Because I’ve gotten asked a lot, ‘What was the difference? What happened? What did you do?’ And the answer was just the way that I showed up every single day from when I was a freshman at Utah State. I kept showing up every single day and it all kind of came together in this big thing. It’s the big compound effect. A lot of little things kind of crescendo and then you’re an Olympian.”

That journey started in her hometown of Rexburg, Idaho, when the four-time letterwinner and multi-sport talent at Madison High School caught the attention of the track & field coaches at Utah State.

Matt Ingebritsen, USU’s throws coach, who has been on staff for 19 years, remembers former USU coach Gregg Gensel’s excitement about the Gem State recruit.    

“From the very beginning they all said this girl was going to be very good,” Ingebritsen said. “I think the biggest thing that they saw in her was just a good attitude and a willingness to listen and work and kind of accept whatever came to her.”

Ingebritsen helped her develop her throws, including the javelin, which was one of her nemeses at the time.

Ingebritsen identified Hawkin’s attitude, work ethic and ability to compartmentalize her training as factors that led to her success at USU and beyond.

“It was easy to see that she was very talented. You never really know how far an athlete can go, but we knew that she was going to be one of our best,” Ingebritsen said. “Even when we had bad days, she would still come back every day. She always had a good attitude. She always had a smile on her face. She was always bubbly and fun to be around at practice and I enjoyed coaching her a ton, but I would say we could see that kind of work ethic in her right from the very beginning.”

In Aggie Blue, Hawkins became the most decorated female athlete in school history as she was a three-time second-team All-American in the outdoor heptathlon, a two-time second-team All-American in the indoor pentathlon, a two-time Mountain West Indoor Athlete of the Year, a one-time MW Outdoor Outstanding Performer of the Year and accumulated 24 all-conference honors between the MW and Western Athletic Conferences. Now, she’s honored on a plaque in the school’s hall of fame, displaying her five-time all-American status and her name is still listed as Utah State’s record-holder in the indoor 60-meter hurdles (8.30), high jump (1.83 meters, 6-0) and pentathlon (4,194 points) as well as the outdoor high jump (1.81 meters, 5-11.25) and heptathlon (5,750 points). Hawkins also ranks second in the outdoor long jump (6.10 meters), third in the indoor long jump (6.02 meters, 19-9), 20-0.25) and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles (13.50).

“I’m extremely proud of her. I only had a small hand in what she did, but it was fun to get to work with her and see her just continue to work and continue to build,” Ingebritsen said. “She has represented Utah State, herself and her family in the best way possible. I think what she puts out in the world is some very impressive stuff and she’s a good role model for all athletes, but especially for young girls that are trying to get into this. They can see she’s a badass, but she also is still Chari and that hasn’t changed her. That’s the thing that I am most impressed with about her.”

Chari is not heading to Paris to only experience the Olympics, she’s in the running for a top finish. Entering the games, Hawkins is ranked 10th in the field by World Athletics, moving up from 12th entering the U.S. Olympic Team Trials this summer.

After taking time to recover mentally, physically and spiritually from the stress of the Olympic Trials, Hawkins has focused on preparing her mind and body for Paris.

“Now that we’ve taken that very necessary time to gather our mind and gather our hearts and really come down from all of this craziness, we can really get to work on sharpening all the tools,” Hawkins said. “We’ve been working hard in the weight room and on our physical fitness, but we haven’t been doing a ton of technical stuff because as a heptathlete, we do so many things that are quite dangerous. You also have to make sure that you’re listening to your body. I never want to do a hurdles practice when my mental faculties are not the sharpest they could be.”

The training itself isn’t anything different than what Hawkins has been doing for decades.

“It’s been 20 years since I officially started track & field and so I’ve been working out for decades for this,” Hawkins said. “There’s nothing special or nothing different that I need to do to train for the Olympics because I’ve been doing it every day for the last 20 years. What we need to do is get our mind ready and get everything sharpened so we can go in and just execute. We don’t have to worry and hope on this miracle thing that happens. We can look at what we know we can do, and we can execute on it. We’re just trying to be really intentional, so we go and have the best Olympic Games possible.”

The two other U.S. representatives in the heptathlon, Taliyah Brooks and Anna Hall, trained in Arkansas and Florida, respectively, while Hawkins trained in California. It’s all three women’s first time as Olympians and Hawkins is excited to share the experience with the women that also competed in Budapest with her, but that doesn’t mean the competition won’t be fierce.

“It was really fun and really amazing to share those things with those ladies because I think that they’re so great, but it’s also all three of our first times being Olympians so it’s a really special experience for all of us,” Hawkins said. “It’s so interesting with track because even though we’re wearing the same jersey, we all want to be on the podium by the end of the day. Even between the three of us, we’re all fighting for that first spot.”

What Hawkins is looking forward to the most is embracing the moment.

“I’m really excited. It’s going to be special,” Hawkins said. “I think something that I’m going to do with all my heart is soak up every single moment. I want to make sure that I’m not doing a lot of mindlessness that I tend to do in my everyday life.”

Once the results have been tallied and the medals awarded, Hawkins plans to celebrate her achievement with a cohort of friends and family that are making the trip to France to support her.

“I have a huge group of friends and family that are coming to support me, and I cannot wait to see all of them,” Hawkins said. “Honestly, they’ve got my back. Whether the outcome is good or the outcome is bad, they’re just there with me and at the end of the day I’m just proud of that. No amount of medals could top it and no amount of disappointment could take it away. I’m grateful for the people that are in my corner and the relationships that I have, the community I’ve built. I’m so excited. I’ve gotten a lot of direct messages of people saying they’re coming to see me. A lot of Aggies actually are excited to come and watch. I can’t wait to share all of that with everybody and I’m really excited just take it all in.”

Then her next stop will be the closest bakery to the Stade de France.

“I’m not going to lie, the moment that I’m done competing, I’m going to be eating every croissant in Paris,” Hawkins said. “I will be going to town on some macarons. I will just be doing all the French cuisine that you could possibly ask for.”

Fans can watch every event of Hawkins’ heptathlon on Aug. 8 and 9 on Peacock with additional broadcast coverage on NBC.