Athing Mu ran 2:02.07 today in her first 800 since the 2021 Pre Classic

She won by 3 seconds so I wouldn’t take away too much either way but yes certainly she is off to a slower start than last year. But does it really matter with her level of talent? No, I don’t think so as long as her health is good. US could be closer though because Rogers and Wilson are well ahead of last year.

I don't know the splits but after the meet Coach Pat Henry said, "The wind was terrible and in some regards a little bit too much to overcome."

Texas A&M has a home meet next weekend so maybe Athing Mu will give the 800 another shot at that meet.

I wouldn't read too much into that 2:02. Mu just ran a 400 in around 50.5 a week or so ago, so I think that Mu could have run sub 2 today if it wasn't for the wind.

I missed that 50.5. I knew she ran 51.75 a couple weeks ago though.

I double checked and it was Mu running anchor leg of a 4x400 but in any case her split was 50.26. So she can definitely run much faster than the 2:02 she ran today. (Two college women have already run sub 2:01 this month, and they aren't nearly as good as Mu.)

I think 1:58 in Mu's next race is realistic, and then 1:57 at Pre the end of May.

In the same meet the 100 had an aiding wind of +3.5 so yea pretty windy

Mu isn't that into training or fitness... She likes to have fun at the beach and enjoy life... And I don't blame her it's a nice lifestyle... She'll do what she has to do to compete for gold and might still win many more but there's a good chance other girls will come along who are just more into running than she is

Not a judgment, she has to live her life but just kind of stating the obvious that people want to pretend like she's just going to keep getting better and better when obviously it doesn't always work like that

Like Kessler, Mu should also quit the sport....she didn't PR??? LOL

You’re going overboard on the Kessler thing. You’ve now likened his situation to Mu who won a race by 3 seconds and Kessler who I guess didn’t run super-fast in a 4xmile. Keep it to that thread.

Athing Mu is a pretty goofy person in her personal life and she definitely likes to have fun and mess around, but someone can be fun loving and still train hard a few hours a day.

In fact, for some people doing fun stuff can help reduce the pressure of being a world class athlete.

You're reading a lot into one windy race early in the season. Let's see how she runs this summer. That will give us a better idea if she is still training hard or if she has slacked off.

honestly as someone that ran the 800m, its not very fun to be in peak 800m fitness year round. its a brutal event, and you actually need some rest. being in supreme 800m fitness year round would be a recipe for injuries, burnout.

she will absolutely do what she needs to do in 2024 to win gold. she's probably better off taking it easy for the next year and then getting into a proper training cycle to peak in Paris.

Please, do not tell me ever, what to post or not post. I will splash the Pot whenever the f--k I want!

It was a joke, lighten up.

Fair ha

I’m not sure if this was even intended to be serious but Mu ran a very long season last year from January through August. She lost only 1 race during that time, won two gold medals and broke a bunch of collegiate records. I would say she is definitely into running. She doesn’t run high mileage being a 400 and 800 runner and still training with A&M coaches but Coach Henry has stressed many times in interviews what a great work ethic she has. This post makes it sound like she is a slacker. So she took a break for awhile and is working on a peak for WC later this year when it matters. No big deal. I believe she also ran a 1:24 600 earlier this spring and looked like it was very easy for her.

mhmm

please do not post your garbage here.

Some people love to work out and if they had a choice would rather work out than go to the beach and frolic

It's nothing against her I'm just saying on the spectrum I would say she's in the middle at Best of someone who really likes to work out

All her times are slower than they were last year so far this year... I'm not saying she doesn't like running and doesn't enjoy being a good runner I'm just saying based on what I can see she doesn't necessarily have a burning passion for training...

The people you describe above would be exceedingly rare. Athing is a teenager and an Olympic gold medal winner. She may even have peaked as an athlete but I would guess she is simply building upon the back of a successful Olympic year. Some people have the talent to still enjoy life and take care of business when it counts.

There's a good chance Athing Mu never improves from her 2021 times. I'm not saying that because of this result, but rather because of how insane her 2021 was.

The only female to win 2 Olympic 800m golds in a row is Caster and she had a (internal) "pair" of advantages....The odds are against Mu.

Mu and Kessler have very specific goals. Running their best in June at trials and July at world's. They probably have both done 0 high intensity, or speed work yet. I have faith we will see both perform at around their pr level at usatf.