So much to spectate and digest in this year’s U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials.

Athing Mu, gold medalist in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 800 got tangled up 200 meters into the finals last night and went to the ground. There was a part of me that was hopeful that she’d recover, rally, find some kind of gear, and podium to make the US team, but I’d imagine it’s next to impossible to make up any lost time in the 800.

I’m not going to lie. I started crying when I saw her crying as she crossed the line in 9th place.

Here’s the video of the women’s 800 meter final and Athing’s spill 200 meters in:

And then there was the 5,000 meter final. Oh, lordy. Parker Valby started out vying for some kind of position near the back, and then just decided to punch it early on to take the lead and push the pace. I loved the move because she has every reason to be cocky and to wear her competition down by throwing down a hot pace off the line. I thought she was going to keep putting distance between herself and the rest of the pack. That proved to not be the case and Ellie St. Pierre plowed through to take the lead with Elise Cranny giving her a run for her money for second place by two hundredths of a second.

And I feel terribly because I didn’t recognize Karissa Schweizer until there was maybe 1k left in the race, and she put up a good fight to come in 3rd and make the US Olympic team. And it goes to show that she’s not so sweet and reserved when she tracks Parker Valby at the 12:30 minute mark in the race to take the 3rd place position.

But man, that throwdown between St. Pierre and Cranny in the last 100 meters.