"Pretty drastic and traumatic things happened" - Athing Mu gets real after failing to earn a spot at USATF Championships

Despite executing an underwhelming performance at the 2025 USATF Championships, Athing Mu expressed her pride in her participation. The USA Track and Field Championships are scheduled from Thursday, July 31, to Saturday, August 3, at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

On the opening day, she placed second in the preliminary 800 m round and clocked 2:00.06 to advance to the next round. In the semifinal round, the 23-year-old athlete posted 1:59.79 to place 10th, hence falling short of advancing to the finals. However, the Olympic gold medalist took pride in her strength and resilience, citing the struggles and setbacks she faced this season.

In an interview with Citius Mag after her race, she acknowledged how difficult it was to show up, race, and give her best. She showed optimism in learning to grow in her sport despite yet another setback.

"I can say that I have been very resilient. It's been pretty tough," Mu said. "These are pretty drastic and dramatic things that happen. And so I think just being able to continue to come out and just pick myself back up, especially my team too, and just coming out and choosing to race and choosing to be out in front of all these all the media, all the fans and everything, no matter where I am in my in my season, in my career, I think was a pretty big thing."

Athing Mu collected a gold and a bronze medal in the event at the 2022 and 2023 WAC, respectively.

Athing Mu opened up about navigating a difficult season

Athing Mu at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. (Photo by Getty Images)

Athing Mu has suffered a tough season since the 2024 Olympic Trials, where she suffered an injury after a devastating fall, which also crushed her quest to defend the 800m title. She was forced to end her season after suffering an injury at the Holloway Pro Classic. She was unable to finish the 5000m race during her 2025 season debut at Mt. SAC Relays and had to settle for 10th at the Prefontaine Classic.

In an interview with Katelyn Hutchinson a few days back, she reflected on her season.

"It's been super challenging. I think coming from Olympic Trials, at first it was like, all right, then going through a bit of summer training and hoping to compete a little bit, I had some injuries, and so that kind of made us just cancel out our season and look forward to the next year," she said (1:20 onwards). "I've had to try and find my love again. I don’t know, I feel like saying ‘find my love for the sport’ is a little bit cliché,” she added.

Athing Mu won a gold medal in the 800m at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first U.S. woman to do so since 1968.

Edited by Samya Majumdar