Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty
In just under two minutes, Athing Mu earned a gold medal and broke a U.S. record at theTokyo Olympics.
“Now I am happy and satisfied, I am glad I did what I have been doing all year, and not switching off because I am at the Olympics,” Mu told reporters after the race. “Just being me is what makes me more proud about this experience.”
Along with Mu’s gold medal-winning run, American Raevyn Rodgers took bronze, coming all the way from seventh place with 100 meters to go to end in third. Meanwhile, fellow 19-year-old Keely Hodgkinson from Great Britain took silver.
The newly minted Olympic gold medalist said she kept a carefree attitude heading into her record-setting performance.
“I came in very relaxed, my mind was very chill, I wasn’t nervous or anything — I was just ready to go, ready to do what I had to do to get on that medal stand,” Mu explained.
“I’m looking forward to standing on the podium, the middle one, and receiving the gold medal that in the future will have my name engraved on it,” Mu said. “I just want to be an Olympic champion, to be completely honest!”
RELATED VIDEO: Flipbook Artist Shares Tribute to Sunisa Lee’s Olympic Gold Win
While things went perfectly during the run for Mu, there was one slip up before the start of the race.
During the opening round heat, the Olympic public address announcer badly mispronounced Mu’s name. Fortunately, she took the error in stride.
“The next step is getting them to pronounce it the right way,” she told the media after her win. “It has been a good couple of years of building my name, running with the senior teams, running with professional athletes, running in high school or college meets.”
DAVID J. PHILLIP/POOL/AFP via Getty
“It was a very tough three seconds at the end, not knowing if I got a medal or not, but I focused on my composure,” Thomas told reporters after the race. “The last thing my coach told me was to stay relaxed throughout the entire race and I think that is what got me the medal.”
Thomas, a Harvard alum and current University of Texas grad student, said she hopes she can be an inspiration for anyone hoping to achieve their dreams while balancing multiple roles in their lives.
“For me it is really important to find balance [in life],” she explained, “and just to let anyone know that you can really do whatever you want to do as long as you are passionate about it.”
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.
source: people.com
