The brutal nature of the US track and field trials was glaringly exposed when Athing Mu, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s 800m, took a fall and failed to recover in a chaotic race on Tuesday (AEST), ruining her hopes of defending her gold medal in Paris.
The women’s 800m final at Hayward Field took a dramatic turn when Mu was bumped about 200m in and hit the track. She was quick to get up and going again, but the damage had been done. With her long, loping, elegant stride she trailed home in last place with a time of two minutes and 19.69 seconds (2:19.69), finishing 20 seconds behind the winner.
Sobbing and holding a tissue as TV cameras followed her, she made a hasty exit from the track.
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The three women set to represent the US in the 800m at the Olympics are Nia Akins, who took victory with a time of 1:57.36, as well as Allie Wilson (1:58.32) and Juliette Whittaker (1:58.45).
US athletics champion Rai Benjamin, a member of the triumphant men’s 4x400m relay team at Tokyo 2020, sympathised with Mu on the NBC broadcast.
“It’s tough to see, especially for someone like Athing who you know can win a gold medal,” Benjamin said.
“You feel for her because she’s supposed to be there, but that’s just US track and field. It’s the hardest team to make and anything can happen here.”
Although results at Athletics Australia’s national championships hold weight at the selection table, how athletes fare at the meet does not make or break their Olympic dreams.
Instead, Athletics Australia selectors take a broader view, looking at the entire qualification period and weighing up a range of factors, including fastest times, number of qualification times recorded, results against international competition, consistency through rounds and participation in the national championships.
How athletes have gone at prior major championships is also a consideration.
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1805439516649386487
The track and field qualification window for Paris 2024 opened on July 1, 2023 and will close on June 30.
The woman who finished sixth in the women’s 800m final at the US trials, Sage Hurta-Klecker, was seething at having her race hijacked by Mu’s fall.
“I’m really pissed with how that played out,” Hurta-Klecker told reporters.
“I mean, f—, that was not how I expected it to go at all.”
While Mu’s Olympic 800m dream is dashed, there’s a possibility of her being selected as a 400m relay runner. The New Jersey-born superstar did not contest the 400m at the US trials, but she could be picked on discretionary grounds.
Mu was a member of the women’s 4x400m relay team that won gold at the Tokyo Games.