Olympic Hopeful Athing Mu falls during trials and does not qualify. Is that fair?

Reese, Kmac, Pam and Alex discuss the Olympic trials
Athing Mu fell during her 800m race. Mu's fall cost her a spot in the Olympics in France and the opportunity to defend her 800m title. What does the Sports Shop crew think?

[@anthonygargano1861]

This was entirely Mu’s fault - she knows her back kick is exceptionally long and she was not well positioned - this was a hard lesson for her to learn and hopefully she learns from this. I wish her the best. I hope she is a world champion next year

[@calcobb442]

There will be no USA 800 medal. The "other" 800 competitors are no where near medal times. Very sad. Alternate? Doubt she will participate.

[@moostymoosty7857]

true but at the same time the third place finisher, who would be the most likely one out if Mu didn't fall, was the NCAA champion running a personal best. telling her "we think you didn't deserve it, and we aren't gonna give you a chance to prove you did" just feels wrong to me.

[@judenewooliston1921]

At the Jamaican trials Olympic 2021 Omar McLeod the defending Olympic champion fell over a hurdle and did not make the team. Most persons were saying to send him and not choose 1 of the guys that made the top 3 because he was sure to get the gold medal again. News flash we won Gold and bronze. When it is your time, it’s your time. Everybody is working to achieve their goals. You can’t have rules that work only for some persons.

[@gordonhampton3429]

They didn’t allow Nia Atkins to go in2021 trials when she fell

[@timinuma]

I will suggest they allow her run all by herself and if she runs faster than the top 3, she should be allowed to join the team. Or send her as an alternate.

[@ronniejohnson196]

Great Suggestion! Though problematic; Because unless it can be proved intentional by the one(s) that impeded AM, It happens too often in this race and especially in longer distance races. Therefore; The appearance of favoritism for AM would taint the outcome of this particular race.

[@charlesreed3700]

@@ronniejohnson196we don’t care 😂 Send Mu. USA might as well send a puppet to run the race now, because we have no chance of bringing back a medal.

[@ronniejohnson196]

@@charlesreed3700 Nice positive attitude. Yet; Who knew that Mu would fall?

[@fredball8240]

That was entirely on Mu. Poor positioning coming into a turn. Funny how this happens, the same thing happened in 2021 to the girl that won (Akins). She tripped up Mu but Mu kept her balance while Akins fell and came in last. This time Mu was tripped by someone else and it was her own fault for not front-running with her long legs. Truth was, she hadn't raced all year and just looked rusty. And btw, the great Usain Bolt false started at the 2011 World Championship final and was DQ'd. Devon Allen false started by .01 secs in the 110m hurdles at the 2022 US Championship final and he got DQ'd.

[@kyte2000]

no one trip MU

[@patrickrojas8514]

If you watch the slowed up tape adkins moved in and athings foot hit adkins on the leg and caused my to stumble and the other girl behind her hit my in the back to avoid crashing into mu causing her to fall 🤔

[@acct5910]

Ya, it’s wild that this is only an issue for certain events. 100m, 200m everyone gets their own lane. Swimming, everyone gets their own lane. Only mid/long distance track events have this issue. You have to wonder if time trials would be a better option for qualifying.

[@kingklassic3522]

I like this option as the point is to prove you can make the Olympic times but also they take the top three so it is based on competition as well. This is a tough circumstance

[@hotpod12]

So when they get the the Olympics, or any other competition for that matter, they haven't raced in open competition and dealt with tactics running in a pack, which every middle and long distance runner has to cope with, yeah time trials, that's the way to go.........................

[@acct5910]

@@hotpod12 No, every other race in the season would still be a normal race. Just for Olympic Trials, they would do time trials in order to qualify on time. Or maybe they just run more heats with less women to reduce the chance of falls. The idea is to get the best team to the Olympics, and USATF has the power to run it how they want to.

[@ronniejohnson196]

@@acct5910 Pretty Much!!!

[@DosSantos721]

Very unfortunate situation - but it was no one's fault.. plus tripping in traffic happens every other race.

[@Tellerish]

Mr. Blue shirt is all emotions and no logics, he doesn’t even have a suggestion for what he is ranting about. 😅 The trials is for exactly the purpose of fairness. It’s one rule for all. The only event that allows defending champion a free card is world championship. This is the Olympics. No matter how good you are you have to still show up at trials and hope for the best. Christian Coleman been the fastest in USA all year yet he didn’t make the 100m team. In 2008 Shelly Ann Fraser came second at the trials and Veronica Campbell the known top performer was placed fourth. A lot of Jamaicans had Mr. Blue Shirt’s logic. Let Veronica replace Shelly. But that same Olympics Shelly won her first goal medal and you know the rest. Also, the other two Jamaican athletes tied for silver. It’s ignorant to speak failure over the actual representatives that worked hard for their positions and fairly qualified to represent the country.

[@LBNoah316]

USA Olympic Trials. You have to compete to go to the Olympics. Stay out of the Pack. Athletic Competition are settled on the field of play.... Got to do on that day.....

[@reyjavi9060]

The rules are the same for eeeeeverybody, so stop crying.

[@RealtorMorgan]

It’s an unfortunate situation, but she can still run on the 4x4 if she’s in good enough shape .

[@hotpod12]

Rules are rules folks, what this may do is force USATF to have a rethink of their selection policies for future games, but you can't do that retrospectively for one athlete. The top 3 finishers in this final all ran under the qualifying standard, so they all deserve to go to Paris, sad for Mu, but that's the rules and that's racing. I also don't believe this was a guaranteed gold for the US, I don't think Mu looked herself in either of the lead-up races, or in the final, given both Keely Hodgkinson and Mary Moraa have been racing at a very high level already this year, with fast times, there's every chance either or both of them could have beaten Mu at the Olympics.

[@brooksfamilystatus]

No homework done. Athing Mu (Pronouned "MO", watch her say it in interviews) had been hurt last year, hadn't run in any major meets leading up to the trails, lost the first round to the girl who got second place in the finals, and struggled in the semi-final round. I feel for her but that's sports. Christian Coleman won the World indoor 60 meter championship against Noah Lyles, was leading the 100 meter race final and got smoked! Should he get another chance? Sha'Carri Richardson got suspended from the Tokyo Olympics over weed, which is now legal almost everywhere. Should they had the US women that made the team give up their spot? 1992 Dan O'Brien decathlon world champion was considered the best in the world but didn't score in the pole vault, which killed his chances of making the Olympics. Should they had let him go because he was the world record holder? I hate to see the best fail but "THAT'S SPORTS!"

[@MaryJane-00420]

That’s sports man. Things happen. She was not the favorite either. She hadn’t ran a race all year up till now. Doesn’t matter if she fell. Stop it. It happens all the time in track and field dude. That’s the way it is.

[@daddydolj]

When you're the best, be the best. She had no business being in that position. You're the fastest person on the track, why are you In the middle of the pack? Betcha she runs from the front from now on. She really didn't look to be at her best to me

[@shellybrown5765]

If it was the olympics an she fall ,she would be out. Sorry about that 😢

[@Jo-oc-0]

Fair? YES. Sad? YES.

[@l.foster4862]

Mu too confident where she took her eyes off the road in traffic

[@davesideas-yt]

She hopefully will be on the 4x4

[@krakhour2]

She got tripped and should have been looked at.

[@moostymoosty7857]

I don't really know if I want to change our current system but to solve this a good idea would be to follow what the Kenyans do. Top 2 make it for sure, 3rd place is decided by the committee. Usually 3rd goes, but in situations like this they send the best.

[@aliabu-talib332]

We're all disappointed. But they should take her to be on the quarter mile relay team.

[@madamnoire7464]

Athing is unfit to defend her title. She didn't race 400m or 800m at all this year. Indoors or outdoors. I'm surprised she showed up for the trials.

[@tkhaskin]

In all honesty..for whatever reason...it seemed as if Mu's head was just not in the game. When she was on her winning streak....she always confidently headed towards the front of the pack. In the past few races, Mu has lagged behind and has gotten in trouble. Seems like her head is not quite in the game. I feel for her...she's a great talent! I sincerely hope she can get back on her game and overcome whatever she's going through in her personal life. God bless Athing Mu. ❤❤❤

[@crimsonspark]

This is like saying the number one team in the NFL should automatically go to the Super Bowl.

[@patrickrojas8514]

The girl behind her that fell in last USA trials 3 years ago and finished last and won the trials this year was the one who one these trials. Her leg hit athing and made her stumble and then the girl behind athing put her hand out to avoid crashing into athing and hit her on her back causing athing to fall. Athing never ran into anyone. A reactor slowed the race down and broke the fall frame by frame. They ran into her.

[@newyorknewart]

I AGREE, SHE WAS TRIPPED AND PUSHED! AND HER THING IS PRONOUNCED: "MO", NOT "MOO". HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW THAT BY NOW?

[@Xx-po1fu]

Even if you use Mu's time from the semi final it still would have put her in 4th place in the final, the other ladies ran faster than Mu and deserve to go to Paris, case closed.

[@WallyPietruszka]

"Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu will not get a chance to defend her 800m title in the 2024 Paris Olympics after falling in the middle of her race during the U.S. Olympic trials Monday. Her team submitted an appeal, but it was denied." So it was officially reviewed and nothing will change. In 2021, 800m trials, a similar collision happened and Nia Atkins fell and was eliminated...this time Mu fell and was eliminated. Both times Mu cut off a runner behind her and got clipped..

[@patrickrojas8514]

The weird thing is athing was the runner who tripped adkins in 2021 finals trials 😮

[@Dazedandconfused5863]

Sad this guy is expressing his views and he doesn't know how to pronounce her name

[@ELVIs-fw4re]

Estoy muy triste por Athim Mu ella merece participar en los juegos olímpicos en 800 metros es de las mejores del mundo.

[@squaretite]

Run the race like the 400m. Stay in your own lane the entire race and the best time wins! No more issues.

[@delwhitley1]

It was the discus thrower not the javelin

[@rodneylove1880]

Unfortunate. Ha! Ha! Ha! Defending Olympic Champion should get a pass.

[@JrJVintage1956]

She wasn't in "race shape" ... that means she hasn't been running enough races this year. She was lollygagging around and took a fall... it happens, If she wasn't a "sister" these guys who don't know Track and Field would not be bitching. The gal that WON the discus in the world championships last year didn't even have a qualifying throw... do you think she should be put on the team? Some countries decide their teams that way ... we do not and never have. Another gal that fell in that incident ended up 5th! the 4th , 5th , 6th and rest that beat her should be the "alternates". As a lifetime fan of track and a long time competitor the ignorance of these two is obvious. To answer your question.. re: Bolt, world record holder Jim Ryun was tripped in an early round in 1972.... nobody pushed him to the next round and he was obviously tripped... tough luck. They do , in the Olympics now , push people to next rounds that have been fouled , NOTHING can be done in a finals and the film doesn't clearly show Mu was fouled and didn't contribute to this.

[@dimkit9714]

it was her fault, all of a sudden she decided to move the her left, she impeded the other runner coming from behind

[@ronniejohnson196]

She was Not>"lollygagging"< but, got tripped-up from behind by the runner behind her. Moreover; which by the way happens occasionally, when there's a slower-pace at time's in races of 800 meters or more. "As a lifetime time fan of track..." You, like I did, apparently didn't watch the replay and recognized what actually occurred. And; As a result did Not take the opportunity to made inappropriate and inaccurate remarks, and seemingly, pick a axe to grind(.."if she wasn't a "sister"...etc...)expose my Own Bias. Peace...

[@hotpod12]

@@ronniejohnson196 Not sure what race you watched Ronnie, obviously different to the one I saw. Slow the race down and watch the video, when they break lanes and all move in, Mu moves to her left and slightly cuts in front of Rogers, because of Mu's longer stride Rogers clips her heal and Mu falls, nothing suspicious, no conspiracy, just one of those things that happens in racing. I'm sure if Mu reflects on her tactics, she wouldn't have cut in the way she did.

[@ronniejohnson196]

@@hotpod12 Pretty much. It seemed incidental and a unaware move by Mu of how close Rogers actually was behind her, as she/they were beginning to turn the curve. It Probably will be a very regrettable reminder that comes from a really avoidable experience! Thanks, Peace...

[@AllInTheGame01]

Getting WC Bronze last yr followed by this fall might just be exactly what she needs re motivation & focus! Can see her going from 1.54.97 to 1.53.99 by the end of this yr for #3 all-time & then running 1.53.27 next yr for a new & long overdue WR! USATF will definitely try to get Athing to run all the rounds of the W4x4 & Mixed 4x4 (with Quincy Wilson) in Paris to get her 2 Gold Medals & possibly at least one WR in the process!

[@hotpod12]

At the expense of another standout 400m runner? USA has some crazy talent coming through in women's 400m, why should one of them miss out on a place in the relay team because Mu fell in the 800m?

[@AllInTheGame01]

@@hotpod12 You do realise that Syd (400mH) & Gabby (200m) who didn't run the W400m @Trials will be starting in that W4x4 Team in Paris, same with Rai Benjamin (400mH) in the M4x4 Team?! Athing is a 49.57 400m runner who has split 48.32 & 48.85 on previous 4x4s inc at the last Olympics in Tokyo! She's going to be on that W4x4 Team in Paris!

[@tyboogie1982]

It's not so much about sending our best, It's about the rules. I sensed Athing Mu was gonna fall before it happened. It's unfortunate, but hey, a race is a race. So if what she gets picked to be on the team for the 800m, makes it in the final and trips and falls??? Then what??? Have a rerun??? HELL NO!!! The Olympics ain't for that? And how in the hell is that man gonna say the first 3 women are subpar talent? They QUALIFIED MEETING THE OLYMPIC STANDARD TIME!!!!

[@kingklassic3522]

This does seem very unfair but the rules of track and field is that you have to know good positioning and where to be, especially in the longer distance races where everybody is close. I do believe she should run on her own as a time trial but then again that dismisses the actual race where they take the top three. So this is a tough one. Maybe take her as an alternate knowing her talent level, but if you don't make it, you don't make it

[@vichelleh]

Akins, the very same young woman who won that 800m race this year, fell in her last US Olympic trials and did not make the team.😔 Athing Mu is definitely one of my favorite track and field athletes but, these Olympic trials are to determine who really wants the opportunity to represent the US. We watched a young woman from the steeple chase event take a nasty fall in the water, get back up and still finish in the mix, I believe that she was able to come back and get third. I am heartbroken for Athing💔 but, that is how these trials go. All these athletes come into this competition knowing that they have to show up and show out or they might not make it.🤷🏾‍♀️✌🏾

[@mikemichael9269]

No Mu no gold for USA in Paris 2024...no way...USA need think twice..or she to represent Sudan and win gold in Paris....😂😂

[@MsNerdsRevenge]

No mention on her form, her running style or her coach. Everything is just laughable.

[@EdwardPeters-n5f]

In the 1972 Olympics,America's premier miler & world record holder Jim Ryun fell in the semi-final.He was finished.

[@avoiceinthechoir5791]

Mike Tyson lost in the trials and became the heavyweight champion. Too bad Mike.

[@dewayne7159]

I enjoyed this podcast! 👍👍

[@kennybob3096]

Which one of you is Angel ?

[@michealbruce4987]

Mu was push

[@MrThematrix1]

She was tripped and she was pushed! I think the officials should have looked at that race on video to analyze what exactly happened!

[@EyeLove1]

Yes yes yes!

[@peterbrown216]

Not true, watch the video of the race.

[@hotpod12]

Slow the race down and watch the video, when they break lanes and all move in, Mu moves to her left and slightly cuts in front of Rogers, because of Mu's longer stride Rogers clips her heal and Mu falls, nothing suspicious, no conspiracy, just one of those things that happens in racing. I'm sure if Mu reflects on her tactics, she wouldn't have cut in the way she did.

[@bobbytaylor6946]

They did check the video

[@ThePrinceEmeka]

Athing Mu's mishap is as unfortunate as it's unfair. She was tripped from behind, by no fault of hers. Her status and record should qualify her for a place in Paris '24, as a wild card. Let us not lose the thought of 2020 when a competitor caused Allyson Felix to drop the baton. Resultantly, team USA was out of the race However, the incident was reviewed and Team USA was given a chance to qualify, by running solo, on time. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4jbh4CueL2coNk

[@musik102]

Oh dear. So many posters on here don't see the bigger picture. For track to survive as a world sport it must grab the public's attention, and get them interested and excited about the sport. I'm pretty sure that globally interest in track is going into decline. Track needs the big stars on show. Track needs the big races. Now, if the "system" works against that, guess what: Change the system. For example, don't have a rigid set of rules that results in a generational talent being left at home. The sport suffers. Fans suffer. There are no positives coming out of this debacle. P.S. And, I'm a Brit and a Keely fan.

[@charlesreed3700]

Yes we’ll have to turn the page and except we will not be bringing home any medals in the 800 meters. We need to send Athing any same way 😂 Damn who won by default, send Athing. Just my opinion…Man, this is a sad moment for me. My heart jumped out my chest and ran to emergency what I seen her fall. All my hope of the USA fell with her

[@poshremyhairclub]

She should run 🏃‍♂️ for Sudan 🇸🇩 and say eff usa 🇺🇸

[@kennywhite2190]

I didn't know what expect , but you three made me laugh HARD !!!!!! thanks !!!!!!

[@thomasgreen1914]

She should have been allowed to compete with the clock in her own race.

[@yosetpuentes8280]

It’s sick to watch this people laughing and joking about a serious, and sad situation like this!! It’s unfortunate, and then they laugh!! This social media is a messed! But you know, the gentleman on blue, is right! She deserves to go, because simply, Mu is the best American in history! And to the other guy, Sr. She’s not a young lady, as you saying, she is the Olympic, and World Champion, American record holder, period! She needs the right support, not clowns laughing at her!

[@manueljuarez5070]

I think defending Olympic champions should be automatically given a free ride!! USA should make new rules!

[@gospelpeace]

Hey 👋 unfortunately 😔 rules when Black ⚫️ always stay intact if for any reason it's not adhered to🤷👌; It's just like "Sha-Sha" in the "Olympic Trials" in 21 where she actually won her final, but later they canceled her out because of the legal weed, then when she could have went to run 🏃‍♀️ the relay because her time for punishment was up they still refuse to let her run, can't help but wonder if she had been that "Caucasian👱‍♀️Persu- asion" privilege, I wonder 🤨🦧🤔? Amen 🙏!!!

[@hotpod12]

What are you on about, do you seriously think the US would not have wanted 'Sha-Sha' to go to Tokyo, given there's every chance she could have won gold, because she's black, that's ridiculous. As for weed being "legal', it's banned by both the US anti-doping agency and WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) who govern the sport, 'Sha-Sha' would have known this, so you do the crime, you do the time baby. Glad to see she's going this year though, virtually a locked in gold.