Olympic athletes with New Mexico ties: Daily recap for Thursday, Aug. 8

Los Alamos native Chase Jackson, the odds-on favorite to take home gold in women’s shot put, did not make it past the qualifying round Thursday.

Jackson, the 2022 and 2023 world shot put champion, recorded fouls on her first two throws and a throw of 17.6 meters on her third attempt. For reference, she won the U.S. indoor championships in Albuquerque in February with a throw of 20.02 meters and only once in the past two years has Jackson had a worse throwing performance (17.01 meters in the FBK Games in the Netherlands in June 2023).

Jackson’s throw was the 17th best in the qualifying rounds in Paris. Only the top 12 move on to Friday’s final round in Stade de France.

A teary-eyed Jackson, wearing a red-and-yellow shirt reading “New Mexico” and with a Zia emblazoned on it, took to Instagram to share how she was feeling about her performance.

“I cried a lot and then I hit a point where I said I don’t want to cry anymore. I just want to use it to fuel my fire and work harder and be a better athlete,” she said.

It’s been a rough Olympics for the 31-year-old American. Jackson posted a video on Instagram after arriving in Paris saying the U.S. Olympic Team gear she received was not the right size.

“When you spend your first hour in Paris crying because they didn’t give you anything in your size,” she said.

In a follow-up video, Jackson clarified that she received the wrong-sized gear in error and that the correct clothes were eventually delivered.

Thunderbirds in Paris

Also inside the Olympic track and field stadium Thursday, former New Mexico Junior College star Tapiwanashe (Carlie) Makarawu, representing Zimbabwe, finished sixth in the men’s 200-meter race.

Letsile Tebogo, of Bostwana, was the surprise winner, crossing the finish line in 19.46 seconds and besting the three American favorites, who finished in second, third and fourth.

Makarawu clocked in at 20.10 seconds. The 23-year-old wrapped up his junior college career in 2024 having won seven individual national championships — including the 100-meter and 200-meter NJCAA titles this year.

Also, NMJC sprinter Lecarthea Cooper — who was listed in previous Journal reports as being a part of the Bahamian women’s 4x100 relay team — will not compete in the 2024 Olympics but did travel to Paris with the Bahamas National Team.

A NMJC press release stated Cooper, 20, was a part of the Bahamian women’s 4x400 relay team that would be competing in Paris and the Journal erred in reporting Cooper was a member of the Bahamian women’s 4x100 relay team. However, neither the women’s 4x400 relay team nor the women’s 4x100 relay team from the Bahamas qualified for the Paris Olympics.

The Bahamian mixed 4x400 relay team did compete in Paris but did not make it to the the finals.

The Tribune, a newspaper in the Bahamas, reported the Bahamian Olympic Committee, amid much controversy around a decision to leave Cooper off the mixed 4x400 team, invited Cooper to travel with the Bahamas National Team to Paris. On Tuesday, Cooper posted a photo of herself in Paris on her Instagram page along with the comment, “Just happy to be here!”

Cooper won the women’s 400m NJCAA individual title in 2024, her sophomore season in Hobbs.

On the course

Two former New Mexico State golfers and one former University of New Mexico golfer are among the 60 golfers competing for a medal, though none is in serious contention after the second day of the four-day tournament.

Former Aggie Alena Sharp, of Canada, shot a 4-over 76 and former Lobo Manon de Roey, of Belgium shot a 3-over 75 on Thursday, and both are 3-over for the tournament and tied for 29th place, 11 shots behind leader Morgane Metraux of Switzerland.

After a disastrous 10-over on her first day, former Aggie Ursula Wikstrom, of Finland, found her stroke on Day 2, going even par to climb up the leaderboard and into 56th place.

The tournament at Le Golf National course just outside of Paris wraps up Saturday.

Looking back

Here’s how Olympic athletes with New Mexico ties have fared in 2024 events that have already wrapped up.

• Former UNM Lobo Josh Kerr, a former NCAA and world champion in the 1,500-meters, took silver in a thrilling finish Tuesday inside the Stade de France, the stadium housing the track events.
• Highland High School alum Anicka Newell, who competes in pole vault for Canada, did not make it out of the qualifying round.
• Former UNM teammates Victor Perez (France) and Gavin Green (Malaysia) finished in fourth and tied for 33rd place, respectively, in men’s golf.
• Albuquerque native Mariah Duran finished in 22nd place in women’s street skateboard.
• Former New Mexico Highlands wide receiver Kevon Williams is captain of the U.S. men’s rugby sevens team that finished in seventh place.

Looking ahead

Here are the Olympic athletes with New Mexico ties who will compete this week:

• Former UNM track star Weini Kelati is competing in the women’s 10,000 meters for the U.S. The finals are at 12:55 p.m. Friday on NBC.
• Former UNM distance runners Fiona O’Keeffe (USA) and Calli Thackery (Great Britain) will compete in the women’s marathon, beginning at midnight Sunday on NBC.