Athing Mu

Athing Mu is an American middle-distance runner. At the age of 19, she won a gold medal in the 800 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, breaking both a national and a continental under-20 record. She set an indoor collegiate and world under-20 record in the 800 meters in 2021 and the world under-20 best in the indoor 600 meters in 2019 when she was 16 years of age. Her time over 600 m of 1:23.57 is the second fastest ever run indoors and the second fastest run by an American woman under any condition. Mu also won a gold medal as part of the 4 × 400 m relay.

At the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Mu won gold medals in the Women's 800 meters and Women's 4 x 400 meters relay. She broke the American Women's 800-meter record with a 1:55.21 performance and ended a 53-year Olympic win drought for the USA - the last American who won the 800m was Madeline Manning in the 1968 Summer Olympics. Mu had qualified for these Olympics at the US Olympic trials held in Eugene, Oregon, by placing first with a time of 1:56.07 in the 800 meters, a world-leading time and the 2nd fastest result in American history. This feat made her the youngest woman in history to hold Olympic and world titles in an individual track and field event.

Mu continued her record-breaking performances post-Olympics. She set the 800 meter USA collegiate record, as well as the American 800 meters record and the all-comers' record at the Prefontaine Classic in 2021. Her remarkable achievements were recognized, and she was voted World Athletics Female Rising Star of the Year in 2021. In 2022, she reaffirmed her dominance in the 800 meters by becoming the World Champion in the event, becoming the first American woman to win the world championship title over the distance. In the 2023 World Championships, she finished third in the women's 800 meters.