It’s a tough blow to train for four years to jump over hurdles, only to make it to the Olympics and jump straight through one. Unfortunately for Haitian hurdler Jeffrey Julmis, that’s exactly what happened in his 100 meter hurdles semifinal in Rio on Tuesday.
Julmis got to the first hurdle and never quite got off the ground. Like, it wasn’t even close. As soon as he got to the first hurdle, Julmis kind of just kicked it and then flew head over heels and hit the ground with a thud. If you forget all the hard work he’s surely put in to even make it to the semi-finals, it’s hilarious.
In reality, it’s just as heartbreaking as it looks in this picture.
The Fort Lauderdale, FL native and Kansas State student was competing for his family’s homeland of Haiti, just as he did in the 2012 Games in London where he failed to reach the semi-finals by 0.35 seconds. This time around he was able to advance, only to suffer an even worse fate with his chance to advance to the finals on the line.
Despite the blunder, Julmis got up and finished the race, which drew cheers from the Brazilian crowd. He eventually crossed the finish line with a time of 25.56, almost 12 seconds behind the next hurdler, and was later disqualified.
https://twitter.com/pebeca11/status/765698499962933249