Athing Mu pulls out of thrilling Prefontaine Classic matchup against Moraa, Hodgkinson

Reigning 800m Olympic champion Athing Mu has withdrawn from the highly anticipated 2024 Prefontaine Classic scheduled for 25 May due to injury.

The 21-year-old, who also decided to skip the 2024 indoor season, as per her coach Bobby Kersee, will not run the two-lap distance because of “lingering soreness in her left hamstring.”

In an interview with Runner’s World, Kersee said that the injury was not worth the risk to race on it, but confirmed that she would resume training as early as the coming week.

“The highest priority is ensuring she will be ready for the first race of 800-meter qualifying at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on June 21,” Kersee said, adding that the bronze medalist from Budapest last year is a veteran, and would make the team if healthy.

Speaking on the high-level decision to now pull Mu out of her season opener, Kersee added: “If I injure her before [the Olympic trials], I’m gonna be called a fool. If I don’t race her before, I’m gonna get [criticism]. So I have to do the math that’s going to put her on the team, and so whatever that math is between now and the 21st, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

This is the third time Mu’s injury has forced her to withdraw from events this season, as she skipped the Oxy Invitational in Los Angeles in early May before withdrawing from the Los Angeles Grand Prix on May 18 as a precaution.

The development does indeed dampen many people’s spirits ahead of Saturday’s 800m event, where a showdown between Mu, Kenya’s Mary Moraa, and UK’s Keely Hodgkinson, was expected to lay down significant markers ahead of the Olympic Games in July.

Moraa set for Prefontaine Classic matchup against Athing MU and Keely Hodgkinson

The race in Eugene could however be still an attraction as it includes six of the eight women from last year’s world championships final.