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

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s training partner, Athing Mu, shared how she was keeping up her spirit despite facing several challenges. She ran her first 800m race of the season at the Prefontaine Classic, where she finished last, clocking 2:03.44s.

Athing Mu and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone train under coach Bobby Kersee. Mu ran her first race in nine months at the Mt. SAC Relays, where she competed in the 5000m and pulled out after passing the 3000m mark.

At the Prefontaine Classic, in a conversation with track and field analyst Katelyn Hutchison, Athing Mu spoke about how she has stayed motivated despite recent setbacks. She reflected on the support she received and the hard work she put in.

“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 some injuries, and so that kind of made us just cancel out our season and look forward to the next year,” she said.

Athing Mu tripped and fell in the first 200 meters of the women’s 800m race at the 2024 U.S. Trials. She added that she had hoped to compete later that summer, but the injuries led her to end the season early and shift focus to 2025.

“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.

Meanwhile, her training partner, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, set a world record in the 400m hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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Athing Mu makes her feelings known after finishing last at Prefontaine Classic

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

Athing Mu finished last in the 800m race at the Prefontaine Classic. The race was won by Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma. In a post-race interview, Mu admitted that she had hoped to win and post a fast time but was disappointed by the result, noting that she hadn’t had the opportunity to run enough 800m races leading up to the event.

"I was definitely hoping for the win, I was definitely hoping to run fast. I think it definitely sucks not being able to have run a couple of 800s before this. Working out in practice is really great, but when it comes to competition, it takes a little bit more,” she said.

Mu has previously won two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: one in the women's 800 meters and another in the women's 4x400-meter relay.