Paris Olympics: How USU alum Chari Hawkins finished heptathlon after heartbreak

AT THE GAMES — After finishing with a no-height in the high jump portion of the heptathlon Thursday, former Utah State standout Chari Hawkins finished all seven events of her first Olympic Summer Games to a 21st-place finish at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

After starting the competition Thursday with a fifth-place mark in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.15, Hawkins failed to clear the minimum height of 1.71 meters in three attempts — a heartbreaking start that pushed the Rexburg, Idaho, native to tears. She added an 11th-place finish in her shot put heat with a throw of 13.64 meters and seven-place finish in the 200 meters in 24.49 seconds.

But the 33-year-old Hawkins came back and finished the event, proving that some results aren't about how you finish — but simply that you get over the line.

In her first event of Friday's competition, Hawkins had a leap of 5.90 meters in the long jump — good for fifth in her heat, and .03 meters behind U.S. heptathlon champion Anna Hall. She added a 44.30-meter toss in the javelin throw, then wrapped up the multi-event meet with a 2 minute, 15.76-second 800-meter run for 5,255 points and 21st place.

Hall finished fifth with 6,615 points. Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam won the gold medal with 6,880 points, followed by Great Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Belgium's Noor Vidts.

The most decorated female athlete in Utah State history with three outdoor All-American honors, two indoor All-American citations and three Mountain West track and field athlete of the year honors, Hawkins — who trains in San Diego with former BYU coach Craig Poole — was the first Utah State alum to qualify for the Olympics since James Parker in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

Chari Hawkins' Olympic heptathlon results

• 100-Meter Hurdles — 13.16 (5)
• High Jump — NM
• Shot Put — 13.64 meters (17)
• 200 Meters — 24.49 (15)
• Long Jump — 5.90 meters (14)
• Javelin — 44.30 meters (15)
• 800 Meters — 2:15.76 (17)
• Final score — 5,255 points (21)

Duffy adds 4th place climbing finish in boulder and lead combined

Colin Duffy is bringing a fourth-place finish in boulder and lead combined back to USA Climbing's headquarters in Salt Lake City.

The 20-year-old Colorado native who became the youngest member of the USA Climbing team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 improved on his seventh-place finish three years ago despite a stumble that kept him just off the podium.

"I'm very proud of how far I've come since Tokyo," said Duffy in a news release. "It's just the start."

Duffy totaled 68.3 points in bouldering for second place in the discipline before the lead competition. He finished with 136.4 points overall, trailing gold medalist Tony Roberts of Great Britain, Japan's Anraku Sorato, and Austria's Jakob Schubert.

Utah's Garip finishes 9th in springboard diving

University of Utah diver Emilia Nilsson Garip finished ninth in the 3m springboard final Friday at the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, France.

The rising sophomore and 2024 NCAA All-American from Malmo, Sweden, scored 60 points for fifth place with her first dive before finishing with a total of 279.40.

China's Yiwen Chen won gold in the event with a score of 376.00, followed by silver medalist Maddison Keeney of Australia (343.10) and China's Yani Chang (318.75).

Utah's Eriksen helps Norway to 13th-place finish in relay opener

Former Utah athlete Josefine Eriksen helped Norway to a 13th-place finish in the women's 4x400-meter relay first round Friday morning.

Eriksen, who was a senior in 2023-24, ran the opening leg for the Norwegian side in 52.30 seconds, when the team was in fourth in the opening heat before finishing sixth. The top three teams in each heat automatically advanced to Sunday's final, including the United States which posted a season-best time of 3:21.44.

The three-time All-American from Stavern, Norway is the school recorder-holder in the 200 meter, 400 meter, 800 meter, 600-meter indoor, 4x100-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay, 4x800-meter relay and distance medley relay.

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