Athing Mu’s bid to repeat as Olympic champion in the women’s 800 meters ended in the gutsiest way on Monday evening.
A stunning fall midway through the first lap of the two-lap race left Mu too far back to reconnect with the rest of the runners.
Mu was running in the third lane from the rail when she swerved in front of fellow Olympian Raevyn Rogers. It appeared that the two runners’ feet became entangled, Rogers stumbling without losing her balance and Mu sprawled on the ground.
Three years after her beaming smile and unparalleled speed made her one of the faces of the Tokyo Olympics, Mu crossed the finish line at Hayward Field in tears on Monday night. Her time of 2:19.69 was more than twenty seconds slower than winner Nia Akins or fellow Paris qualifiers Allie Wilson and Juliette Whittaker.
Had Mu not fallen, it is difficult to imagine the 22-year-old not winning the race, let alone failing to make the top three. This is a woman who has been one of the brightest stars in American athletics before she was legally old enough to order a glass of wine at a restaurant.
Mu broke NCAA records at Texas A&M, captured Olympic gold in the 800 and 4×400 meter relay in 2021 and confirmed that with a victory on American soil at World Championships the following year. She had barely lost a race in her entire career before settling for bronze at last year’s World Championships.
