Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s training partner Athing Mu shares creative "bold" note ahead of USATF Championships race

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s training partner Athing Mu shared a creative made by her on social media. Mu made the artwork to remind fans of her upcoming race at the 2025 USA Track and Field Championships. She will be competing in the 800m.

The 2025 USATF Championships will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from July 31 to August 3, 2025, and will feature Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas and other top athletes. Those who place at the nationals will qualify for the upcoming World Championships, scheduled for September 13–21.

On Wednesday, July 30, Mu shared a hand-drawn poster she created. In the drawing, she illustrated a track, added the event details and included words like:

“BOLD, FAST, STRENGTH, CHAMPION, RUN, COURAGE, HAYWARD MAGIC.”

She captioned the post with details about her events. Mu will compete in Heat Two of the first round on Thursday, July 31, at 3:37 p.m. (streaming on USATF.tv), followed by the semifinal on Friday, at 4:01 p.m. and the final on Sunday, at 1:18 p.m. (both airing on NBC).

Her caption read:

2025 USATF OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS ✨💆🏿‍♀️Thursday, July 31, 2025 1st Round (women) begins at 3:37 PM on USATF.tv (I’ll be in heat two) Friday, August 1, 2025, Semi Final (women) begins at 4:01 PM on NBC Sunday, August 3, 2025, Finals (women) at 1:18 PM on NBC. I made this today at a coffee shop … enjoy 🤍

Mu made a last-minute entry into the list and is the 2022 World Champion. Meanwhile, McLaughlin-Levrone is competing in the 400m flat, a change from her usual 400m hurdles.

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Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s training partner Athing Mu gets candid on emotional and physical struggles after hitting career low

Sound Running Track Fest - Source: Getty

Athing Mu has raced only two 800m events in 2025, and neither went as planned. She opened her season with a 10th place at the Prefontaine Classic, then followed it up with a 6th place at the Ed Murphey Track Classic. After the Prefontaine Classic race, Mu shared:

“Yeah, I mean, honestly, 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 a little bit of injuries, and so that kind of made us just cancel out our season and look forward to the next year,” she said. (1:26 onwards via Katelyn Hutchison) “That was a little bit challenging on top of Olympic Trials, so 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.

Now, Mu is set for her third 800m race of the season at the 2025 USATF Championships. Other top contenders include Nia Akins and Ajee Wilson.

Athing Mu is a 2021 Olympic champion who has won two gold medals in the women’s 800m and 4x400m relay.

Edited by Luke Koshi