Athing Mu, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 800 meters, will not get a shot at defending her title in Paris after an early fall Monday in her signature race at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials knocked her out of contention for the three qualifying spots.
Mu’s coach, Bobby Kersee, told the Associated Press that Mu was clipped from behind, leading to Monday’s fall, and they lodged a protest with USA Track and Field. The protest was denied, a USA Track and Field spokesperson said Tuesday.
Mu, 22, went down on the track around the 200-meter mark and wasn’t able to catch back up. She finished ninth with a time of 2:19.69 and left the track in tears. Only the top three finishers at the trials qualify for the Olympics.
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Nia Akins finished first with a personal-best 1:57.36. Allie Wilson crossed second with a season-best time of 1:58.32, and Juliette Whittaker also clocked a personal best to take third in 1:58.45.
Mu fell while racing toward the outside of the pack, rolling onto her back as multiple runners veered around her or jumped over her.
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Kersee said Mu suffered an ankle injury, had track burns and got spiked, per the AP.
“She’s going to be licking her wounds for a couple of days,” Kersee said.
Wilson said she heard the commotion during Mu’s fall: “That, unfortunately, is part of racing. Things like that can happen.”
Mu did not do interviews after the race.
“I’ve coached it, I’ve preached it, I’ve watched it,” Kersee told the AP. “And here’s another indication that regardless of how good we are, we can leave some better athletes home than other countries have. It’s part of our American way.”
Mu, who also won a gold in the women’s 4x400m relay in Tokyo, was hampered by a hamstring injury and hadn’t raced much in the lead-up to the U.S. trials, but she was still considered a medal contender heading into the Paris Games. She could still make it to Paris with Team USA in the relay pool.
Any athlete at trials can be chosen for the pool, which will be announced at a later date, per USA Track and Field.
Alex Andrejev contributed to this report.
(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)