What happened to Nia Akins at the World Indoor Championships? All about the American's fall and appeal for qualification

Nia Akins, during the 800m semifinals at the World Indoor Championships, fell within 100m and was unable to finish in a qualifying position. The USA Track and Field (USATF) filed a protest to allow her to advance to the final, arguing that Akins was involved in a collision with another competitor, causing her to fall.

The official reviewed the incident to check whether she was tripped by another runner. However, the fall was deemed as a normal part of the race, causing USATF’s request to be denied. As the decision did not change, Akins could not race in the final.

Despite the fall, Akins finished in fourth place, outside the automatic qualification spots for the final. Later in the race, Kenya's Lilian Odira also fell as the other competitors approached the final mark. Ethiopia's Tsige Duguma clinched the victory with a time of 2:03.85.

The news was shared on X/Twitter by CITIUS MAG on March 22, 2025, including the event's summary in the caption.

"Absolute CARNAGE in the first semifinal of the women’s 800m.US Champ Nia Akins goes down 100m in but gets back up and finishes in 4th, so she may get advanced to the final despite finishing outside the Top 3.Ke nya’s Lilian Odira then went down around the final bend. When the dust settled, Tsige Duguma took the win in 2:03.85. Shafiqua Maloney finishes 5th and shockingly will not make the final."

Following the unfortunate event, Akins shared her emotions during a post-game interview.

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Nia Akins reflects on her performance at the 2025 World Indoor Championships

Nia Akins at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing Day 1 - Source: Getty

During the post-race interview, Nia Akins shared her emotions about the events in the match. She said that, after falling, she focused on staying patient and not using all her energy at once.

The 26-year-old said she remained confident that she could close the gap but felt the last lap would be challenging. She credited her recent efforts in managing panic attacks for helping her stay composed.

During the interview, the athlete said (via LetsRundotcom on YouTube):

"Really happy myself for just getting back up and finishing the best I could. I think obviously the goal is to not fall at all and not get caught but things happen something it's hapened before so. I guess the important things just back up, so yeah I'm happy with my race. I'm pleased with my performance."

Nia Akins is a two-time national and national indoor champion, and is also the NACAC U23 Championship silver medalist.