Athing Mu’s fall and the inconvenient truth

Deji Ogeyingbo wrote this thoughtful piece on the tragedy of Athing Mu and the absolute wealth of talent on the US team. A good read on the US Olympic Team, headed for Paris 2024. 

Athing Mu’s fall and the inconvenient truth

Track and Field fans are obsessed with statistics. Here’s one to kick off this piece. Since Athing Mu won her 800m Olympic Gold in 2021, she has only raced twice outside the United States. Once in the 400m in Peru and the other in the Rome Diamond League in Italy. Of course, this statistic doesn’t include the world championships in Hungary in 2023, a tournament she had to be in by getting a bye as the defending champion. But we will get to that in a bit.

Mu is arguably the most prodigious 400m/800m/1500m runner in the sport’s history, as evidenced by her record-breaking feat before age 22. However, for a sport that puts so much emphasis on the world championships and the Olympic Games, the American has found a way to duck racing in events for most of the year leading to these events. There are obvious consequences to these. Primarily, it’s hard to judge your shape in terms of time and, most importantly, gauge yourself against your competitors.

In essence, you leave things to chance. In this case, you depend on your superhuman abilities to bail you out when race day comes. Most times, it works out; other times, it leaves you shattered and tearful. For Mu, the latter was the case at the US Olympic trials; the rules couldn’t have been bent to accommodate her after she fell in the final of the women’s 800m.

The lasting image of these trials is undoubtedly seeing a tearful Athing Mu, who finished last after falling on the first lap of the final in Eugene, the premier venue for track and field in the United States. Despite her undeniable talent, Mu’s inconsistent participation in competitions raises questions about her commitment and preparedness.

While she had battled back from injury and taken a self-imposed break to rekindle her passion for running, her sparse competitive schedule left her ill-prepared for the rigors of top-tier events. Her impressive win in the semi-final showcased her potential, but her lack of consistent competition may have contributed to the disappointing outcome in the final.

Her Coach, Bobby Kersee, said Mu got clipped by another runner on the backstretch of the first lap, which caused her to veer to her left and tumble to the ground. In the end, after a failed appeal, he stood by the words he had…