“The thought of having to get up and get amped up for another final, and another round is hard to imagine,” expressed Sage Hurta-Klecker, visibly emotional and near tears after her Olympic dreams were dashed in the 1500m semifinals. “I mean I was just really tired today,” she added, reflecting on the exhaustion that overwhelmed her. Hurta-Klecker had hoped to make the Olympic team in the 1500m after finishing fifth in the 800m, but her body was not ready. 

As a rising star in the 800m event, she placed the blame on Athing Mu, whose dominant performance disrupted her Olympic dreams. This unexpected outcome leaves Hurta-Klecker reeling as she faces the disappointment of watching the Olympics from the sidelines. Her 1500m semifinal performance fell short, and now she faces another four-year wait before she can compete on the elite Olympic stage again.

Emotional Sage Hurta-Klecker blames exhaustion and rival’s dominance for Olympic setback

Citius Mag’s Chris Chavez tweeted an interview with Sage Hurta-Klecker following her failure to qualify for the 1500m finals. In the interview, she expressed her deep disappointment, saying, “I’m super heartbroken about how these Trials went. It’s been a lot of mental and emotional energy to get me through these rounds.” Chavez captioned the tweet writing, “Sage Hurta-Klecker after being eliminated in the U.S. Olympic Trials 1500m semifinal. A valiant effort to run with the leaders – even after three rounds of the 800m and a prelim.” In the Olympic trials, Sage Hurta-Klecker placed second in the prelims for the 1500m event with a time of 4:15.90.

However, in the semifinal, she ran at 4:08.07, finishing sixth in the semifinals. So she did not qualify for the finals. Amongst the qualified people is Elle St. Pierre with a time of 14:40.34 which set a meet record. She was followed by Elise Cranny with 14:40.36 and Karissa Schweizer with 14:45.12 in 2nd and 3rd position respectively. Hurts-Klecker also did not qualify in the 800m semis partially due to Athing Mu’s fall in the event. The fall crushed all chances of Mu defending her 800m title in the Olympics and though she got back up to race, she finished last in the heat. Additionally, the fall caused Sage to have to deflect and step-around. Which cost her precious time and she ultimately finished 5th with a time of 2:00.38, effectively being eliminated from the Olympic race.

At the time when she was asked what she felt, Sage replied, “Anger,” stating she was angry with the way things turned out above everything else. It was more heartbreaking considering she had been consistently placing 2nd in the event in qualifiers and prelims. She told the press, “I’m really pissed on how that played out.” Both Athing Mu and Sage Hurta-Klecker faced some unexpected setbacks during the 2024 Olympics trials, which had nothing to do with their preparation and the hard work they put into their race. Some hubs on the internet even speculated that if the fall had not happened, the team would have been Athing Mu, Sage Hurta-Klecker, and Nia Atkins.

Sage Hurta-Klecker’s legacy so far 

Hurta-Klecker is one of the best middle-distance sprinters in the country. In the 2023 Prefontaine Classics, she ran with a time of 1:59.64 in the 800m which was really impressive and showed her readiness to compete on the international stage. She also set a lifetime best in Monaco, 2022 with a time of 1:57.85 in the same event. Additionally, at the high school level, she was the New York state cross-country champion three times. She also won 4 DII Championships.

In college at the University of Colorado, Sage became the second woman from the university ever to make it to NCAA DI All-American status. She also had a fourth-place finish in the 800m and a 3rd place podium finish in the 1500m at the 2015 U18 trials. Though all this is surely legendary and cements her status as one of the best sprinters, Sage unfortunately often misses the podium 1-2-3 finish. From the Olympic trials, only the three top athletes moved forward into the team so it cannot be said for certain that Sage Hurta-Klecker would have made the team if she hadn’t had to defect around Athing Mu.

At the start of the season, Sage Hurta-Klecker was more interested in the 800m as she wasn’t sure whether she had it in her body to compete in the 1500m. Though it is sad to see her Olympic journey ending in the 1500m semis, we’re sure she will be back on the field making new history very soon.