"I want to teach" - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's training partner Athing Mu playfully expresses desire to share insights with 5-year-olds

Athing Mu, an American middle-distance runner and training partner of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, shared her desire to teach five-year-olds a Zoom class about perseverance.

Mu is the youngest American middle-distance runner to win an Olympic title and a world title. The 23-year-old runner holds the under-20 record in the women's 800-meter indoor. Mu won the Olympic gold in 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won another gold in 4x400 meters at the same Olympics. The young middle-distance runner has been Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's training partner for several months and has made a return to the tracks after a nine-month hiatus.

Athing Mu was asked a question on Instagram stories. The question was, if she knew a five-year-old who would want to learn about perseverance, to which the athlete replied.

"I want to "teach" a class on zoom. Just for fun & for advice"

Screenshot of Athing Mu's Instagram story (@athiiing/ig)

Athing Mu has made a last-minute entry into the USATF Championships in the 800 meters. Mu will be returning to the track at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Mu's comeback to the track after the hiatus has not been particularly fruitful, with a 10th-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic and a sixth-place finish at the Ed Murphey Track Classic. The third time could work wonders for the athlete, earning a podium finish at the 2025 USATF Championship.

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When Athing Mu was not happy to be in the 2023 World Championship in Budapest, and how she drew inspiration from her six-year-old self

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - Day 4 - Source: Getty

Athing Mu opened up about the 2023 World Championship and not being happy in Budapest. After a glorious golden podium finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the young prospect was looked at as the future of athletics when it all came to a halt. She was the defending champion and had a winning streak going on for her.

"For sure, I wasn’t really happy to be there. The season leading up to it – not in terms of training, but mentally – I just wasn’t really there. I just wasn’t present. I didn’t appreciate being there. I didn’t really enjoy what was happening to me," Mu said in an interview (via The Guardian)

Mu opened up about her experience and how growing expectations were overwhelming. The athlete talked about drawing inspiration from her six-year-old self.

"When I started running when I was six years old. It was just something I did. It wasn’t about pursuing ‘this person’, or getting to ‘this level’. It was something embedded in me, and so it became the norm."

Athing Mu recorded her first podium finish of 2025 at her debut race at the Sound Running Track Fest in the 1500 meters 'C' Heat.