Athing Mu jogged across the finish line in tears.
Three years after her smiling face and brilliant speed made her one of the breakthrough stars of the Olympics, the Trenton native will not defend her gold medal in Paris next month after a stunning fall in the U.S. trials on Monday night.
Mu had made it through the first two turns in the 800-meter race when her legs appeared to tangle with those of another competitor. She was the only runner to fall to the track, and while she managed to scramble to her feet and start running again, she was too far off the pace to close the distance with the pack.
“I think we’re dreaming,” the winner, Nia Akins, told NBC. “I’m speechless.”
“I’m so confused right now,” the runner-up, Allie Wilson, said.
It is a crushing loss for Mu, who seemed to carry all of Mercer County on her back as a 19-year old when she became the first American woman to win the 800 meters since 1968 and broke the American record in the process.
She then teamed with another New Jersey star, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, to win a second gold medal in the 4x400 relay. Mu was track’s newest star.
Her no-nonsense personality won over a legion of new fans — and they even learned how to pronounce her name. (It’s uh-THING moe.) Trenton held a parade in her honor, with hundreds of fans showing up to celebrate one of the greatest accomplishments for an athlete from the city.
The three years since haven’t always been smooth. Mu has fought through injuries and, in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, acknowledged that the pressure of life as a professional athlete had sapped much of her joy from running.
“There’s so many more fans that are here supporting me ... a lot of people enjoy watching me run,” she said last week. “There’s a little bit more pressure on me, because I know that other people are looking out to what I do to reflect on how they move in their careers. With that in mind, I kind of just want to always make sure I give out my best.”
She made it through the semifinals with the best time, but in the often cruel Olympic trials, the only thing that matters is what you do in the finals. Mu’s unthinkable fall means she will have to wait four years for another shot at Olympic glory.
The cloud does have a silver lining for one New Jersey track community. The 28-year-old Wilson, a record-setting runner at Monmouth University, will now get her chance to run at the Olympics after a breakthrough performance.
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Steve Politi may be reached at [email protected].