Athing Mu DID NOT want to be at this meet

My bet is one more track season before she retires. She certainly isn't still running by the next Olympic games. Heart doesn't seem in it

Let's be completely honest with ourselves: If Mu had gone to the Olympics and won after the type of season she had (on and off track) it would not have been a good story. NBC can spin it however they want, but the storyline for anyone with a half a brain stem is that training is completely secondary to genetics.

The underlying thought to the Olypics and sports in general is that the best are the best because they worked the hardest. It's not completely true, but it's at least partly true. Mu absentmindedly phoning it in for a few years and then winning the Olympics would throw that whole paradigm into disarray.

This is why the boards appear to be full of "haters". It's not explicitly against Mu, it's against the idea that you can slack off and fall back on superior genetics to still win. Everybody wants to believe they can overcome.

No one knows the headspace she has been in the last few weeks. Tripping costs her what was going to probably be the biggest payday of her career. She probably had Olympic ads and product deals ready to go and they were gone in a few seconds. Expecting her to just “do her job” and keep training to get in Olympic shape with no Olympics wasn’t a reality.

Moses Kiptanui was 4th at the 92 Kenyan trials. He broke the steeplechase record that year.

Dan O’Brien missed the US team. He broke the decathlon record that year.

let me pull up that thread where you all coddle tf out of krissy gear who quit her trial b/c she might be experience "too much pressure" or "mental health issues" and see whether these comments are kinder or not...

cope! her life is better than yours that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Agree. As a professional, you’re getting paid to give it your best if nothing else. I saw someone that lacked desire to be prepared ready to give it her best. I hope she can resolve things to pursue her passion for performing on the track again soon.

My take on a lot of this is different than most of the posters on this thread. First, I thought she looked focused and dialed in at the starting line yesterday. If you notice, most women runners have a RBF on the starting line. I consider that a good sign and thought she was about to do something special. I think that was the plan. No way would she have traveled to Gainsville if she could only run 2:00. Something did not go according to plan. I also do not think she looked out of shape. My hunch was that when it came time she just couldn't trust her hamstring and open her stride up. Maybe she felt something, or maybe it was psychological. She would not be the first runner who had trouble psychologically using an injured part that had technically healed.

I wish people on this board could have some compassion. She is only 22. She achieved so much straight out of the gate, and I don't think she was prepared for the expectations and pressure that would bring. Other young stars have talked about how difficult that is, and I think it has maybe taken some of the joy out of running for her. I have never heard she hates running. I have heard that she has had personal struggles that have taken away from her focus, but that is because she is a person and not some robot. Many people have had the nightmare of suffering humiliation in front of a crowd only to wake up and be grateful it was just a dream. How many people have ACTUALLY suffered what might be seen as a humiliating experience in the middle of a crowded stadium. At 22? How much joy is being bashed while down supposed to bring her?

I don't think she has done anything wrong. Last year she was a young woman thrown off her game by personal struggle, and this year she has been dealing with an injury. The expectation seems to be that she run through injury??? This is clearly a rough time for her, but I think she will be back. Even if she does not continue running from today on she has accomplished so much in her short career. She is allowed to have growing pains without being flogged publicly. It's just not her time right now.

Here's a summary of facts we know (not an exhaustive list):

• Mu started in track at the age of 6 when the coach of the Trenton Track Club noticed her talent.
• When Mu was 16, she broke the American record while winning the US championship in the indoor 600.
• In her freshman year at Texas A&M, Mu broke six collegiate records: indoor 600, indoor 800, outdoor 400, outdoor 800, and both the indoor and outdoor 4x400. She also win 3 NCAA championships: the outdoor 400 and the indoor and outdoor 4x400.
• Mu has said she thought about quitting the sport during the covid break in 2020 because she was training by herself, she had missed out on a lot of normal teenager stuff in high school while focusing on track, and it wasn't fun anymore. She said her year at Texas A&M (the 2020-2021 academic year) where she was part of a track team helped her find the joy in the sport again. When she announced her decision to go pro, this is what she posted on Instagram: "I'm convinced that saying, 'the past year at Texas A&M was the greatest year of my life', is an understatement. I have never had so much fun, joy, and love come from any experience like I did here. I met some of the best people that I have ever met and I was taken care of like no other. Most importantly, everything I went through and everything I accomplished was done w/ a TEAM. I'm beyond thankful for all the people I was surrounded by daily that helped my get to this very moment."
• At the age of 19, Mu won two Olympic gold medals, and she broke the US record in the 800, twice.
• Despite her build-up being interrupted by covid and injury, Mu won the 800 world championship in Eugene in 2022.
• After the 2022 season, Mu moved to LA with her boyfriend, Brandon Miller, to be coached by Bobby Kersee.
• During a now infamous interview on Ryan Clark's podcast in March 2023, Mu talked about track in ambivalent terms: On the one hand, she talked about the possibility of retiring early to pursue other interests such as fashion. On the other hand, she talked about a desire to break the women's world record in the 800 and possibly double at a world championship.
• Kersee stated he didn't want Mu running the 400 because he didn't want her racing his other superstar athlete, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. SML ran the 400 at the 2023 US championships, and Mu ran the 1500, finishing 2nd.
• Mu stated she was not happy in the summer of 2023. She said the pressure and expectation of being an Olympic champion got to her. She "only" finished third at the world championships, but then came back and won Pre in another US record, going under 1:55 for the first time.
• After the 2023 season, Miller left LA and signed with the Brooks Beasts.
• After winning Pre last year, Mu stated she rediscovered her joy.
• This year, Mu suffered a hamstring injury in the spring that kept her out of races and interrupted her training. She showed up at the US Olympic Trials only having recently resuming her training, still managed to run 1:58 in the semis, but fell and failed to make the team in the final. She cried as she finished the race and left the track. Kersee filed an appeal on her behalf, which was denied. Kersee also said Mu hurt her ankle in that race.
• Last night was Mu's first race since the Trials. She had the lead on the second lap but got passed on the homestretch, eased up before the finish line, and finished 5th in 2:00.
• Mu is still only 22 years old.

Those are the facts. I'll follow up with my opinions in another post later.

Sources:

letsrun.com

A Star Is Born: 16-Year-Old Athing Mu Breaks American Record, Just Misses WR to Win 600 at 2019 USA Indoors in 1:23.57

Jonathan Gault

By Jonathan Gault February 24, 2019 World, meet Athing Mu. If you didn’t know about the phenom from Trenton, N.J., before this weekend we don’t blame you.

Open link

12thman.com

Athing Mu Decides to Pursue Professional Career - Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com

Texas A&M freshman Athing Mu announced her decision to pursue a professional career in track & field and forgo her remaining three years of collegiate eligib...

Open link

realwomanonline.com

Trenton’s Athing Mu is a Legend in the Making

Jess Downey

The world may know Athing Mu as one of the most promising young athletes on the planet, a record-breaking track star, a world champion, and a gold medal-winning athlete. But in Trenton, we call her ours.

Open link

letsrun.com

Athing Mu Talks World Record, Modeling, Possible Early Retirement and Reveals She Was Hurt at 2022 Worlds

LetsRun.com

Mu said that modeling has excited her since she was young: "I make jokes all the time about me retiring within the next two years and just going to walk the runway."

Open link

letsrun.com

Olympic Champion Athing Mu Isn't Running Pre Because She Got Covid

LetsRun.comMay 27

Athing Mu has revealed why she is missing Pre.

Open link

flotrack.org

Former NCAA 800m Champion Brandon Miller Signs With Brooks Beasts - FloTrack

Cory Mull

The former Texas A&M middle-distance star adds to a Brooks Beasts' lineup that includes Josh Kerr, Devin Dixon and Nia Akins.

Open link

si.com

Athing Mu Is Back on Track for the Paris Olympics

During a self-imposed break from the track, the middle-distance runner rediscovered the joy that allowed her to strike gold twice in Tokyo.

Open link

espn.com

Olympic champion Mu's appeal denied after fall

Track officials have denied an appeal by 800-meter Olympic champion Athing Mu, who got tangled in a pack of runners and fell at the U.S. trials Monday night, denying her a chance to defend her title.

Open link

It’s clear she was hoping to coast to Paris on talent alone. It’s not impossible that she could have done it but for the fall, but I suspect she’d have had a tough time of it and could easily have ended up fourth. On the whole her fall was possibly helpful to her reputation among average viewers who will not even know about this meet in Florida, because her story is a tragedy of circumstances. Obviously had she made the team that’s better, but falling is a better story than “simply wasn’t in shape to make it,” especially after being the SI cover athlete and all that.

sounds like she would have been better off running for her high school instead of whatever it was she did. I think 99.9% of people are better off competing for their school. Never underestimate the joy that comes with competing as a team, with a team.

She actually realized this while at A&M, but still made the decision to go in an opposite direction of TEAM oriented.

Where can she go that has a great team atmosphere? Is she willing to leave Kersee? I hope so, because I do believe she can find joy and even greater success. again.

There were 20 players in the NFL younger than her. Should we be compassionate when they screw up? How about when they aren't in the mood to try? How about when their feelings are hurt?

Mu is the only Woman out there who can threaten the 800M WR. She is still really young, she just needs a new environment, new location, new coach and she will be fine.

She has shown she can run in the 48's for 400M, so 1:53.XX is a possibility.

I sure hope she gets it together and comes back, that race she ran yesterday, she shut it down the lat 50 meters and still ran 2 flat completely unmotivated

You beat me to it. This is my take as well. Mu didn’t have the same look of misery at the start line last night that she had last year in Budapest. To me, her expression last night was, “I mean business.” She ran the race like she had the intention to win, but she just didn’t have it at the end.

I wonder if she took a bit of a break after the US trials to spend time with family and regroup. That’s what she did after her disappointment in Budapest. She might just need more time to rebuild fitness. I hope we see her racing again after the Olympics.

The one criticism I will make, which I’ve made before, is I wish she would do a better job of letting her fans know what’s going on with her so we don’t have to speculate and fill in the blanks. I would like to see her do an interview in the next week.

I remain a loyal fan.

This is just ridiculous, this isn't real life. If your coworker got denied a promotion and suddenly could barely do their job, you would think they are a loser. Second, if this coworker that is now severely underperforming you, but makes like triple your salary, you would be heated.

Not able to keep up motivation for 2 minues show how she is not the woman that can threaten the 800m WR.

When did she show she can run in the 48s for 400? isn’t her PB 49.5? She’s a tremendous talent but she hasn’t run a 400 in 3 years

You are correct, she has a PB of 49.57, however she ran 48.32 in a relay in Tokyo.