A Surprise Appearance At Thursday's Press Conference Answers Concerns That American Record Holder And Defending Olympic Champion Isn't Ready Since She Hasn't Raced Since Last September

By Lori Shontz for DyeStat

Keenan Gray photo

EUGENE – The year 2021, the way Athing Mu remembers it, “was a kind of just going through the motion year for me.”

At least, that’s what she said Thursday at a press conference at Hayward Field in advance of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, which start tomorrow.

A refresher: In 2021, Mu was a 19-year-old freshman at Texas A&M who went undefeated in the 400 meters and 800 meters during the regular season. She decided to focus on the 400 at NCAAs, then won the title by more than a second over Talitha Diggs of Florida, setting a collegiate record of 49.57 seconds. She also anchored the Aggies’ 4x400 relay to a victory and collegiate record. Then she won the 800 meters at the Olympic Trials in 1:56.07, breaking a trials record that had stood for 25 years.

And then, oh yeah, she won the Olympic gold in Tokyo, running 1:55.21 to break the American record and give the United States its first gold in the 800 meters in 53 years.

Going through the motions? It certainly didn’t look that way. But Mu said she is feeling better about this second time through the Olympic cycle – even despite the despite the injury that has sidelined her for this entire outdoor season. Now, she’s got experience. Nothing is new.

“It’s really nice to have that background knowledge,” she said.

Mu’s appearance at the press conference was a surprise; she wasn’t on the list of athletes who were attending, and she has withdrawn from all three meets she entered because of an injury. She said she wouldn’t have showed up at the trials “if we weren’t healthy enough to be here.”

“I have so many more years left in my career, and so it’s really important that we prioritize our body and our health,” she said. “So we’re at a good point now. We were able to get back to training pretty quickly and get back into the rhythm of where we left off.”

Mu struggled at points through the 2023 season. She ran the 1,500 instead of the 800 at the USATF Championships because she had a bye to worlds as the 800 world champion, and she finished second behind Nikki Hiltz and qualified for worlds. She decided to run only the 800, but ended up with a bronze medal after she was uncharacteristically passed on the second lap.

The adjustment to being a professional athlete at a relatively young age, she said, was difficult.

“And of course I’m still a human, I’m still a normal person, and there’s personal things that come into the picture as well,” she said Thursday. “I think that when I know I’m not doing my best mentally … you feel it fall onto your athletic side and your physical side. And so I think that’s just what has happened. I think that’s where I felt more pressure because I believe I wasn’t 100 percent my own self.”

But she ended last season on a high note. She didn’t just win the 800 at The Prefontaine Classic in September. She beat the gold medalist from Budapest, Mary Moraa of Kenya, who finished fourth, and the silver medalist from Budapest, Kelly Hodgkinson of Great Britain, who finished second. And she set an American record, 1:54.97.

“Prefontaine kind of ended on a high note, and I let that mindset carry me through the beginning of the season,” Mu said. “I was really super happy and excited about changing things and how I approached this year.”

 And then, as Mu put it, “A little booboo came along.”

The injury – which her coach, Bobby Kersee, described as a “sore hamstring” to Runner’s World – forced her to withdraw from three competitions in May, the Oxy Invitational, the Los Angeles Grand Prix and The Prefontaine Classic.

“We’re always adjusting to find the right approach, which is preparing for the most important meet and being at USAs,” Mu said. “Bobby loves USAs, the world championships, the Olympic Games. Let’s take a step back, gather ourselves, get back healthy, get to this moment.”

Mu said she is also feeling stronger mentally and emotionally heading into the trials. She opens competition Friday in the first round of the 800. The semifinals are Sunday, and the final is the last event of Monday’s session.

“I think I’m pretty excited,” she said. “Just happy. I haven’t set foot on the track yet besides working out. It’s just nice to be back in the environment of what is my job, what is my career.

“I think the pressure is kind of let off because I’m more happy than I am nervous or worried too much about what’s going to happen next. Just one round at a time. One step at a time. As it always comes to USAs, you’ve got to go out every single day and do what you have to do to get to the next step. That’s my mentality coming into these trials.”