"Heartbreaking to watch", "So upsetting"- Fans react as defending Champion Athing Mu fails to qualify in 800m after a devastating fall

Athing Mu will not defend her Olympic title in the 800m after her unfortunate fall in the finals on Day 4 of the US trials. Her fans were in dismay after she finished last and left the track in tears.

Mu bagged gold in the 800m during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by breaking the national record with a time of 1:55.21. She bested Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson and Raevyn Rogers, who clocked 1:55.88 and 1:56.81, respectively. However, the 2024 Paris Olympics' 800m will not witness the 22-year-old running for gold.

Athing Mu met a crash and fell in the initial 200m of the race, which led to her finishing last with a time of 2:19.69 in her pet event at the trials. She couldn't regain her footing and match the speed of her contenders after the fall. Nia Akins clinched gold, recording a time of 1:57.36, and was followed by Allie Wilson and Juliette Whittaker, who posted a time of 1:58.32 and 1:58:45, respectively, making their way to the Paris Olympics.

Track & Field Gazette posted the news on X, which took Mu's fans aback.

One of the world champion's fans, heartbroken by the fall, commented:

"This shit was heartbreaking to watch. Her family going from excited to absolute despair was even more gut wrenching."

Another follower upset with the devastating fall said:

"So upsetting. The family's reaction was gut wrenching."

Another admirer of Athing Mu, deeply affected by the incident, commented:

"I'm seriously heartnroken and have never cried so hard over a race! She will come back with a vengeance."

Saddened by the fall, another fan of the 800m champion said:

"This was so sad to watch live :/ you could tell she was devastated when she got back up and was running behind everyone else."

Along similar lines, another admirer chimed in:

"I could cry for her. So devastating to watch her fall."

Athing Mu on health issues that delayed the opening of her season

The Olympic trials were the 2024 season opener for Athing Mu, whose last competition was in September 2023. After an electrifying 800m heat on Day 3 of the trials, Mu opened up about what led to the delay of her season opener in the post-race interview. (via Pulse Sports)

"It was all health-related.," said Mu. "We had a plan to get into the season that you know, we just wanted to run into shape and I think that's what a lot of professional athletes always want to do and unfortunately, we just had something happen and we had to take a step back and the cards were played."

The 22-year-old also spoke about her coach, Bobby Kersee's priorities,

"Of course, if we had a better situation we could have been competing more but it's always best to be healthy and that's Bobby's priority for all the athletes."

She further added about her experience running in her season's first race,

"It was good.. I felt like it was pretty controlled. It felt pretty smooth and just felt like it was my first race back. Of course, my legs were getting a little wake-up but it felt nice."

Along with the 800m title, Athing Mu also won another gold in the 4x400m relay, with her team including, Sydney McLaughlin, Allyson Felix, and Dalilah Muhammad at the Tokyo Olympics.