A meek inadvertent stumble is sometimes all it takes to have a long-standing dream deferred, and that’s exactly what transpired with Athing Mu. A controversy has erupted in athletics following Athing Mu’s dramatic fall during the 800-meter finals at the U.S. Olympic trials in Hayward Field. Her unexpected stumble dashed her own Olympic aspirations and also dealt a significant blow to Raevyn Rogers, who had dominated the semifinals with a time of 2:01.08. Another athlete’s journey was similarly impacted amidst the fallout.

This rising star, showing remarkable improvement since her setback at the 2021 trials, had hoped to secure a spot on the Olympic team, only to face disappointment once again. Mu’s tearful exit and efforts to avoid cameras with a tissue have left a lasting impression on spectators and sparked debates about fairness in competitive racing. Now let us veer our attention back to the star who had a fighting chance but lost it all because of chance on the stomping grounds.

Is all really fair in track and field? Athing Mu out of the running

In a recent interview featured on Chris Chavez’s tweet after the 800m USATF Olympic trials, Sage Hurta-Klecker explained exactly how Athing Mu’s fall affected her chances to make the Olympic team. The CitiusMag founder captioned it, Sage Hurta-Klecker: “I’m really pissed on how that played out. Not happy about Athing Mu’s fall in the 800m final and how it disrupted her race. She is entered in the 1500m and will try to bounce back to try and make the team in that event.” In the interview, she said, “That was not how I expected it to go at all.” 

When Athing Mu fell, Sage Klecker had to step around, which took her some extra time and she unfortunately lost. When asked about her emotions at the moment, Hurta-Klecker candidly said, “Just anger”. Earlier she didn’t know if she had it in her to run the 1500m, but after the mishap, Sage was self-admittedly pretty amped up. Sage Hurta-Klecker finished 5th on the track with a time of 2:00.38, and it is heartbreaking to realize she was close enough before Mu’s fall and could have made it onto the team. This watershed moment might be temporary as it depends if Athing Mu will rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

Athing Mu bumped at around the 200m mark and hit the track. Though she quickly got up to continue, the damage had been done, and she finished in last place. With a time of 2:19.69 seconds, she finished 20 seconds behind the winner, Nia Akins (1:57.36) who will be advancing to the City of Love. Atkins will be accompanied by Allie Wilson (1:58.32) and Juliette Whittaker (1:58.45) for the 800m event at the Olympics.  Let’s harken back to Klecker now, shall we?!

Sage Hurta-Klecker’s road to the Olympics: A journey of preparation and determination

Sage Hurta-Klecker had been having a really good season before this snafu. In the heats, she finished 2nd in the 800m with a time of 2:01.30. Furthermore, she placed second in the semi-finals for the event at Hayward Field as well. She had a time of 2:01.11, which was quite a feat. After that score, she was able to move onto the finals where her Olympic dream for the 800m was dastardly cut short. At the previous trials, which is the 2021 USA Olympic trials, Sage Hurta-Klecker did not finish the 800m and therefore could not qualify for the Olympics, rendering her effectively DNF. However, in the last three years since turning pro and joining On Athletics Club in 2022, she has improved.

In the Outdoor track and field championships, she finished 7th with a time of 1:59.43. She had told Citius Mag, “I haven’t been thinking about the big ‘few’ [competitors] quite as much as maybe in 2021 when I was just starting to run the 800m at this level. I want to sort of like rely and think about ‘Who am I as a runner?’ as opposed to trying to play whoever else’s game or emulate someone. It’s what works best for me.” This is the mantra Hurta-Klecker will continue to follow as she approaches the 1500m soon.