The Trainer Games, presented by iFIT, has taken seasoned athletes and promising newcomers in the field of endurance sports, and pitted them against each other in the run up to the fever pitch final on February 5, where a $250,000 cash prize and an opportunity to join the iFIT coaching team awaits the winner.
In this spoiler-free interview, M&F caught up with contestant and Olympic heptathlete, Chari Hawkins, to find out what she found most difficult, and why no matter the discipline, it’s perfectly ok to come last, just so long as you try your best.
Who Is Chari Hawkins? The Olympic Heptathlete Built for Endurance
Chari Hawkins didn’t just make an Olympic sport her chosen vocation, she pretty much chose to do the entire Olympics instead. Because, as a heptathlete, this insanely fit female from Idaho is required to smash seven different competitions over two days. For those keeping count, day one involves the hurdles, high jump, shot put, and a 200-meter run, then day two rounds out with a long jump, javelin throw, and an 800-meter run. It’s a process that demands speed, strength, and stamina, and fortunately, Hawkins has all those qualities in abundance.
In 2011, while a freshman at Utah State, this tenacious track and fielder won the Western Conference Outdoor Championship. In 2018, she took gold in the England Athletics Combined Events Championships, and in 2022 won the Heptathlon Gold in the combined events in Spain. Still, nothing could have prepared her for the challenges that lay ahead in The Trainer Games, now streaming on Prime Video, where Hawkins would be required to navigate unfamiliar territory to reach checkpoints, abseil unstable cliff faces, and even wade through seaweed.
Olympian Chari Hawkins Shares Endurance Secrets from ‘The Trainer Games’
“The thing that’s crazy is, I don’t spend much time at sea,” shared Hawkins of being outside her comfort zone on the show. “They had us swim two miles, on a paddle board, out and back. I got caught in a rip current, and I was stuck for such a long time that somebody came up to me on a boat and it’s like, ‘By the way, you haven’t moved in an hour!” Hawkins became familiar with iFIT as a student in Utah. “I’ve been really aware of them for a long time,” she explained, noting that the chance to become a coach on the virtual fitness platform would be a perfect fit, since she already has her own online coaching business. What she wasn’t aware of prior to filming, however, was the chance to grab a hefty cash prize. “They told us that on day one in the intro,” explains the athlete of the $260K jackpot. “Say what!?”
During The Trainer Games, Hawkins would be forced to dig deep, enduring immense fatigue and physical stresses, at one point suffering severe skin abrasions and knee pain that left her unable to walk. Still, getting right back up after falling is tried and tested territory for this gutsy girl.
Mental Toughness Meets Extreme Fitness in The Trainer Games Finale
In 2024, during her Olympic debut in Paris, Hawkins’ dreams were crushed when she failed to clear her first high jump target of 1.71 meters in the second event of the Heptathlon, putting her out of contention for a podium place. While the devastated athlete was aware that she could bow out early, this inspiration instead completed the entire event. “There is that part of you that just wants to go home,” Hawkins tells M&F. “I was so sad, and I was so shocked and disappointed and embarrassed.”
Rather than cut and run, Hawkins created an incredible chapter in the story of her career thus far. “I kind of had to ask myself, ‘what do I need to do right now?’ and ‘who am I doing this for?’ And the answer that I came up with first was that I’m doing it for the 2016 and 2021 me, who worked just as hard as 2024 Chari, but didn’t make the team.”
With her friends and family in the crowd, Hawkins took a moment of immense disappointment and turned it into a celebration of both sad and happy tears in Paris, as she completed the heptathlon, and did herself proud. “Now I get to talk about this with so much happiness and joy, instead of so much embarrassment and shame,” she explains.
Whether it’s via her tricky Olympic test in 2024, or her most recent challenges in The Trainer Games, Hawkins has an important message for those who lack the confidence to crush their goals. “I think the coolest thing for me, that I’ve learned through my whole life, but something that the Trainer Games really taught me, was every single thing you try, you’ll always surprise yourself if you do it with your whole heart. I really love to push myself in things that bring me joy.”
The Trainer Games is available to stream on Prime Video, with the finale scheduled for February 5, 2026. For more information click here.
