Athing Mu, the defending Olympic gold medalist within the 800-meter race, tripped and fell throughout trials Monday, ending her bid to make the U.S. staff headed to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The stunning flip of occasions for Mu, the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist, confirmed how tough it’s to make the elite U.S. observe and area Olympics staff.
Nia Akins, Allie Wilson and Juliette Whittaker completed 1-2-3 and are all going to their first Olympic Video games.
The mishap, only a few moments into the ultimate race to find out who’s getting on the airplane to Paris, occurred on the U.S. Olympic observe and area trialsĀ in Eugene, Oregon.
āIt doesnāt matter who you’re,ā Ato Boldon instructed NBC OlympicsĀ in a pre-Trials roundtable. āYouāre assured drama. Itās the hardest staff on this planet to make.ā
Earlier within the 12 months, Mu had been nursing a sore hamstring and pulled out of two competitions.
Nonetheless, many anticipated her to compete in Paris.
āItās robust to see, particularly for somebody like Athing, who you realize may win a gold medal,” 400-meter hurdler Rai BenjaminĀ mentioned from the sideline Monday. “And also you simply ā you are feeling for her, as a result of itās, like, sheās imagined to be there, you realize? However thatās simply USA Monitor & Subject. Like, itās the toughest staff to make, and something can occur right here.”
On the 2020 Tokyo video games, Mu earned gold medals within the 800 meters and the 4×400-meter relay.