Mary Moraa's key challenger, Athing Mu out of Paris Olympics 800m
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 25.06.24. | 08:19
There are slim chances of Mu to go to Paris as part of the US relay pool; she was a key part of America’s gold-medal win in the 4x400m three years ago in Tokyo
Olympic champion Athing Mu’s hopes for a repeat came crashing down on the first lap of the 800m final at the US Olympic trials on Monday.
Racing in the middle of the pack, Mu tangled with a bunched group of runners and went crashing to the ground before rolling on to her back.
She got back to her feet and finished the race, but was more than 22 seconds behind the winner, Nia Akins, who took first place with a time of 1 minute 57.36 seconds.
The defending champion was touted as World champion Mary Moraa's main challenger at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
The US Olympic trials were Mu’s first meet of the year after dealing with injuries all season.
She looked to be in good form in her first two rounds but was out of the running in the final before the first 200m.
Mu could still go to Paris as part of the US relay pool; she was a key part of America’s gold-medal win in the 4x400m three years ago in Tokyo.
After winning college, national, world and Olympic championships all before turning 21, Mu won a bronze medal at worlds last year and, afterwards, conceded she needed a break from the pressure and demands that come with being tagged as one of track’s new stars.
Dramatic final in the #TrackFieldTrials24 women's 800m.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 25, 2024
American record-holder Athing Mu falls 200m into the race and Nia Akins wins, running the fastest time of her life (1:57.36). pic.twitter.com/j0SCWtGjA3
“For sure, I wasn’t really happy to be there,” she told the Guardian when asked about her 2023 season. “Mentally, I just wasn’t really there. I just wasn’t present. I didn’t appreciate being there. I didn’t really enjoy what was happening to me.”
She has dominated the 800m thanks, in part, to a long, loping stride, and that may be what cost her in a race in which she came in as the favorite.
Mu was racing on the outside in a tightly bunched pack and looked to be veering to her left toward Juliette Whitaker when she tripped, leaving three runners behind her flailing as they jumped over her.
Mu is hardly the first athlete to suffer such misfortune. One of the more memorable and heartbreaking moments came eight years ago in the same event, when Alysia Montano, looking to return to the Olympics, was tripped up in the homestretch and stayed down on the track crying.
Additional reporting by The Guardian
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