Every time Athing Mu steps on the track, the indefatigable freshman phenom at Texas A&M does something that just blows the collective minds of the track & field world.
In what has to be the greatest season in NCAA history by a freshman, Mu, who starred for NJ's Trenton Track Club, added another electrifying chapter to her epic campaign as she sent shock waves reverberating around the globe by torching the oval with a NCAA and U20 world record 1:58.40 to win the 800m at the SEC Championships on Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Mu's splits were 28.65, 29.32, 29.64, 30.81 on the way to shattering the collegiate record of 2:00.69 that was set in 2017 by another Aggie great, Jazmine Fray. Mu, who turns 19 on June 8, also took down the World U20 record of 1:59.03 that was set by Kelly Hodgkinson of Great Britain on January 30.
Even more impressively, Mu's 1:58.40 places her No. 2 on the U.S. all-time indoor list, No. 3 in the world this season, and is No. 2 on NJ's all-time list behind Ajee' Wilson, who starred at Neptune High. Wilson owns the US indoor record of 1:58.29, No. 16 in the world all-time. Mu is now No. 20 all-time in the world.
That's right, New Jersey now boasts the two fastest 800m runners in U.S. indoor history.
How awesome is that! More on this later.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention-Wilson dropped a 1:58.93 outdoors to finish first at the Texas Qualifier tonight! That's No. 4 in the world this year (indoors and outdoors combined).
Mu's performance on Saturday should pretty much lock up the Bowerman Award.
Mu now owns two NCAA records, and she helped set a third.
Last month, she broke a 40-year-old collegiate record in the women's 600m at the Aggie Invitational in College Station by running a blazing 1:25.80, shaving 0.76 seconds from the previous record set back in 1981. That time is the fastest in the World this year.
Three weeks ago, Mu ran a World Junior record (pending ratification) 50.52, No. 2 in the world this season, in the 400m at the Charlie Thomas Invitational in College Station. Sydney McLaughlin, the 2016 Olympian out of NJ's Union Catholic High, ran the fastest U20 time ever recorded in the 400m (50.36) at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships when she was a freshman at the University of Kentucky. But that time wasn't ratified.
Mu also blasted a 50.03 anchor split for A&M to bring the Aggies across the line first in the 4x40on in an NCAA record and World Leading 3:26.27 at the Tyson Invitational earlier two weeks ago.
Getting back to NJ's dominance in the women's 800m.
How about NJ going 1-2 in the 800m at the US Olympic Trials with Wilson and Mu!! I wouldn't bet against it!
Did you know it's happened before - NJ went going 1-2 in an event at the Olympic Trials?
The great Carl Lewis (Willingboro High) and Dennis Mitchell (Edgewood High/now Winslow) went 1-2 in the 100m dash at the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials. The NJ 1-2 exacta may have happened at other Olympic Trials as well? I'm doing some digging to find out.
And it nearly happened again in 2000 when the legendary Clark sisters, Joetta and Hazel (who both starred at Columbia High), nearly pulled off the 1-2 in the 800m at the Olympic Trials. But what happened instead is one of the most remarkable feats in Olympic Trials history. Hazel won the race to make her first Olympic Team (she also made the Olympics in 2004, and ';08), and older sister Joetta placed third to make the Olympic team for a fourth time! In between them was Jearl Miles-Clark, their sister-in-law!
How about that for a family trifecta as all three punched tickets to the Olympics.
I case you missed it, the Clark Sisters qualified for Olympics seven times between them, and now Wilson and Mu are the two fastest 800m runners in U.S. indoor history!
Is there a better state for producing all-time great 800m women than NJ?
Let me rephrase that!
Which state is No. 2 behind NJ at producing all-time great 800m women?
Get Ur NJ Track & Field On!!
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