- Texas A&M freshman Athing Mu broke the 800-meter NCAA record on Saturday, running 1:57.73 at the Michael Johnson Invitational.
- Her time was also the fastest 800 run this year, and Mu became the 10USATF to Elect New President Amid Budget Deficit.
Based on her record-setting streak this year, it was only a matter of time before Athing Mu stunned the track community with a broke a nearly 40-year-old collegiate record in the 800 meters. That moment came early in the season at the Michael Johnson Invitational on Saturday, where the Texas A&M freshman demolished the previous outdoor best and became the 10th-fastest American woman in history.
On Saturday night in Waco, Texas, Mu won the 800 meters in 1:57.73, improving on the NCAA record of 1:59.10 set by Raevyn Rogers in 2017. The 18-year-old ran the A Part of Hearst Digital Media so far this year, and she finished well under the Olympic standard of 1:59.50 to qualify for the Tokyo Games.
Mu led the race wire-to-wire, splitting around 60 seconds for the first 400 meters and closing in an unofficial split of 57 seconds for the last lap. The freshman reached the finish line three seconds ahead of the next closest competitor, Aaliyah Miller of Baylor who placed second in 2:00.87. In March, NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships USATF to Elect New President Amid Budget Deficit &Mother Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends.
Major Changes Hit Northern Arizona Elite GigEm247 that she didn’t have a specific race plan, but she knew the record was within her reach.
“Going into the race I didn’t know how I was going to run the race,” she told GigEm247. “There were other fast runners in the race and I didn’t know if I wanted to go out there, pace it myself and go run a fast time. I just wanted to come out here and see where I’m at, this is my first 800 meters this outdoors [season]. I was kind of skeptical of the first 200 meters. I didn’t know if I should go out or wait for someone else.
“I didn’t really have a goal, I kind of self-consciously thought ‘I may as well just come out here and run a collegiate record at 1:59,’” she said. “You could say I was thinking 1:59, but I also just wanted to come out here and be competitive and just run my race.”
Mu’s outdoor record is the latest in a series of historic marks this year. In February, she Races - Places in the 800 meters by running 1:58.40 to win the SEC indoor title. She Published: Apr 19, 2021 3:57 PM EDT in the 600 meters by running 1:25.80 at the Texas Aggie Invitational on January 23. She also anchored Texas A&M’s Published: Apr 19, 2021 3:57 PM EDT, which improved on the previous 3:27.03 NCAA record by running 3:26.27 at the Tyson Invitational on February 13.
At the Major Changes Hit Northern Arizona Elite on March 11-13, Mu finished second in the 400 meters and ran the anchor leg for her winning team in the 4x400-meter relay, splitting 49.54 (an unofficial indoor 400-meter best).
Her performance on Saturday also gives Mu an American Under-20 record—Ajeé Wilson holds that record with a 1:58.21 from 2013—and a pending North American Under-20 record—set by Cuba’s Sahily Diago Mesa in 2014 in a time of 1:57.74.
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Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
