Fast Women: A lot has happened since Monday morning
Elle St Pierre, Nia Akins are Olympic Trials champions.
Issue 299, sponsored by Brooks
During the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, I’ll be sending out newsletters more frequently, so I can cover all the action in a timely manner. Fast Women will return to its regular once-a-week schedule on Monday.

Nia Akins dominates a shocking 800m final
If you ever want to feel every emotion in a two-minute span, just watch the replay of the Olympic Trials 800m final (which already has more than 400K views, by the way). The race was thrilling, heartbreaking, and cruel, as this sport can be at times. Reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu got clipped from behind 200m into the race and fell hard. Though she got back up and continued the race, she had lost too much ground. Around 500m in, it became apparent that she wasn’t going to catch the field, and she eased up, jogging home in 2:19.
Though you can find many people on the Internet who will tell you otherwise, it’s impossible to say how the race would have played out, or who would have made the team, if Mu hadn’t fallen. The disappointing thing is that the fall robbed her, and all of us, the opportunity to find out.
Nia Akins knows a thing or two about tough breaks. At the 2021 Olympic Trials, she was the one lying on the track less than 200m into the 800m final, after tangling with Mu, ironically. (She also struggled at the USATF Indoor Championships in February. The song she wrote leading up to the race is even more fun now that we know there’s a happy ending.)
But Monday was Akins’ day, and she put on a masterful performance. When Mu went down, Akins was in a good position to avoid the fallout. She held back until around 250m to go, and when she made her move, no one had a response. I had imagined scenarios where Akins won this race—she finished sixth at last summer’s World Championships after all. But I didn’t think she would be as alone as she was coming up the homestretch. She won her second-consecutive U.S. title, running 1:57.36 and shaving 0.37 seconds off of her PR, which she set at Worlds last year.
When I look back at Allie Wilson’s race, the word that comes to mind is patience. When Mu fell, Wilson was on the rail, and she was one of the athletes who was least affected. She gradually worked her way up throughout the race and no one closed faster than she did in the final 100m. She went from fourth to second, passing Michaela Rose about 50m from the finish, and Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker with about 10m to go.
After coaches Andrew and Amy Begley parted ways with the Atlanta Track Club last summer, Wilson followed them to Indianapolis, where she’s now part of the Heartland Track Club. When she won the USATF Indoor 800m title in February and signed a contract with Nike, it looked like the decision had paid off. But if anyone had any lingering doubt about it being the right move, Wilson erased it on Monday.
And if you want to feel more emotional about Wilson’s success, watch this clip from last year, after Wilson missed making the 800m final at USAs by one spot. After running 1:58 for 800m an impressive seven times in 2022, Wilson hadn’t done it since. But she looked fantastic during the rounds, and she picked the perfect time to break into the 1:58s again. She placed second in 1:58.32, not too far off her personal best of 1:58.09.
Whittaker’s personal best also dated back to 2022, but she improved it on Monday, finishing third in 1:58.45. Though she was racing in an On uniform, because she has an NIL deal with the company, Whittaker is a 20-year-old sophomore at Stanford, which makes her Olympic qualification all the more impressive. She was running next to Mu when she fell, and though Whittaker got bumped, she reacted quickly and didn’t appear to be affected much.
A former high school phenom, Whittaker became the second U.S. high school girl ever to break 2:00 in the 800m at the end of her senior year, in 2022. And she has continued her success in college, winning both the NCAA indoor and outdoor 800m titles this year. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Whittaker, either. Last spring, she opted to focus on the 1500m during the collegiate season and did not qualify for NCAAs. At USAs, she returned to the 800m, but in her semifinal, she fell about five meters from the finish line and did not advance to the final.
Whittaker might not be the only member of her family headed to Paris. One day earlier, her sister, Bella, who just graduated from Penn and will use her remaining eligibility at Arkansas, finished sixth in the 400m final. She will find out soon if she has been selected as part of Team USA’s 4x400m relay pool.

After finishing fourth at NCAAs, LSU’s Rose, 21, bounced back well at the Trials, where she also finished fourth, in 1:59.32. She’ll be the Olympic alternate. Rose’s consistency is impressive. She has broken 2:00 10 times this year, including three times in four days at the Trials.
Sage Hurta-Klecker finished fifth in 2:00.38. Other than Mu herself, Hurta-Klecker was the athlete most affected by the fall. She had to do some side steps and a jump to avoid landing on Mu, and the pack gapped her in the process. Though she had mostly reeled them in with 400m to go, she ran the second 200m of the race harder than she otherwise would have. She made up ground in the final 200m, but she was never quite able to bridge the gap to the top four. After the race, she was understandably frustrated. She confirmed on Tuesday that she’ll double back in the 1500m.
Kristie Schoffield finished sixth (2:01.04), Raevyn Rogers took seventh (2:01.12), and Kate Grace finished eighth in 2:02.37. I appreciated Grace’s honest recap of the race. She said she thinks she ran her final in the semis and though she was somewhat impeded by Mu’s fall, it wasn’t the difference between her making the team and not making it. Even though another Olympic team wasn’t in the cards for Grace this time out, she left a memorable mark on the Trials.
As for Mu, I hope that she has a strong support system to help her through this. She left the track in tears and understandably didn’t do any post-race interviews. Her team filed a protest, but it was denied. (As frustrating as the entire situation was, I think the officials made the right call.) It will be interesting to see if she continues to race this season and how this experience impacts her relationship with the sport. She continues to have a very bright future ahead of her.
Three years later, Akins is able to be philosophical about her fall in 2021. “I wouldn’t be here today without that happening to me then,” she said after the race. “Honestly, it took me a while, but I’m super grateful for it, because I learned a lot from it and it sucked and it happened but it helped me grow a lot as a person and grow in my faith.”
And maybe Mu will get there someday, but it’s not a perfect parallel. When Akins fell, she wasn’t favored to make the Olympic team, whereas Mu expected to be contending for Olympic gold. Apparently she is still eligible to be part of the 4x400m relay pool, but it’s TBD if USATF would select her, or if that’s something she would want.
As hard as it was to watch Mu struggle, it was also heartwarming to see Akins, Wilson, and Whittaker’s joy at becoming Olympians. I’m excited to continue following their seasons and to see how far they can go in Paris. (Olympic Trials results)

Thanks to Brooks for sponsoring Fast Women this month
On Monday, I used this space to talk about Brooks Beast Nia Akins, and while I’d like to say there’s some correlation between being featured here and having a fantastic race at the Trials, that was all Akins. Another athlete I’m excited to watch at the Trials is Jess McClain, who will be running the 10,000m final on Saturday night.
McClain had a major breakthrough earlier this year when she finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. She ran an incredibly patient race, and passed 10 athletes in the second half. Despite the Florida heat, she shaved nearly four minutes off of her personal best. McClain was a member of the Brooks Beasts from 2015 to 2018, and after the Trials, she signed with Brooks again.
McClain has found over the years that she runs her best when she has balance in her life, and her Brooks contract allows her to continue to do what’s working for her, with the backing of a great brand.
After a 4+ year hiatus from racing on the track, McClain decided to give it another go this spring, and she qualified for the Trials in May, with a 19-second personal best of 31:35.28. Though she has qualified for the Trials before, this will be her first time racing there. “I couldn’t get to the Olympic Trials in 2016 physically healthy, and I couldn’t get to the Olympic Trials in 2021 mentally healthy,” she wrote in a post earlier this week. “This year, I have done both of those things two times and I am just really happy and proud to be able to say that.”
You can read more about McClain, and scroll through some of her favorite Brooks products, here.

Elle St. Pierre holds off Elise Cranny in a tight 5,000m
While the 800m was full of surprises, the Olympic Trials 5,000m played out pretty much exactly the way I would have expected up front. Earlier this year, when both Elise Cranny and Karissa Schweizer were struggling, I wondered whether one or both might be vulnerable this season. But when they both comfortably dipped under the Olympic standard at the Portland Track Festival, and then looked great kicking in their prelims, I figured they were going to be fine.
The one thing I couldn’t decide was who was going to win in a kick, Elle St. Pierre or Cranny. And now I feel better about not being able to guess because in reality, it was very close, with St. Pierre taking the win in 14:40.34 and Cranny finishing 0.02 seconds back. Schweizer’s recent races suggested that her kick, while good, isn’t quite in the same league at the moment, and that proved to be true here, as she finished third in 14:45.12.
I think the top three were going to be hard to touch no matter how pacing played out, so while Parker Valby going to the front and leading 10 laps helped make the race quick, that benefitted Valby as much as anyone. With about two laps to go, St. Pierre made a move to the front and Cranny and Schweizer immediately reacted, tucking in behind her. Valby did her best to go with them, but she doesn’t seem to have the same ability to change gears yet.
She finished fourth in 14:51.44, shaving 0.74 seconds off of the PR she set at NCAAs, which was all she needed to dip under the Olympic standard of 14:52.00. It was an excellent run for the 21-year-old, in her first U.S. championship. She did what she needed to do to have her best race, and I don’t think any other strategy would have gotten her a higher finish, especially because until Valby took the lead 200m in, it didn’t look like anyone else was going to push the pace.
There’s still a chance Valby could go to the Olympics in the 5,000m. I don’t expect Cranny or Schweizer to give up their spots, but St. Pierre said she hasn’t decided whether she would double at the Olympics, while noting that the schedule would be pretty tough. (There’s no overlap between the events, but the 1500m rounds start less than 13 hours after the 5,000m ends.) I can’t say for sure that St. Pierre would choose the 1500m over the 5,000m, but that’s the event she was planning to run all along.
And of course, St. Pierre hasn’t made the 1500m team yet, and as we’ve seen, anything can happen. But if there’s anyone who should be cheering for St. Pierre’s success in the 1500m, it’s Valby. And Valby will have another shot at the team in the 10,000m, which takes place on Saturday night.
About seven months after having knee surgery, Whittni Orton Morgan finished fifth in 15:05.53, a really solid showing, given the year she’s had. Allie Buchalski (sixth, 15:12.87) and Ella Donaghu (seventh, 15:14.27) also ran well. And I haven’t seen an announcement yet, but Taylor Roe, who seems to have joined Puma Elite, finished a strong eighth in 15:15.37.
Though she ultimately finished ninth in 15:22.16, Rachel Smith put herself in the race and held on longer than most, staying with the lead pack until about 3600m. And kudos to Katelyn Tuohy for giving this race a shot, despite having to take so much time off from running, and knowing that she wasn’t at her best. She finished 12th in 15:33.40.
Though the top three weren’t a surprise, none of them had a seamless path on their way to becoming repeat Olympians. A year ago, St. Pierre was sitting at home watching USAs, with her now 15-month-old son in her lap. And while motherhood has brought her great joy, that doesn’t mean getting here has been easy. But seeing St. Pierre with Ivan on the track after her race was one of my favorite scenes of the Trials so far.
Over the past year, Cranny has struggled with her mental health, overtraining, burnout, and REDs, and she has made two coaching changes. It’s been inspiring to see her take the reins and do what’s best for her, even if it’s unconventional (Runner’s World link). And everything seems to be coming together for her just in time. Likewise for Schweizer, who underwent her second Haglund’s surgery last fall. (5,000m highlights)

Gabbi Jennings leads the qualifiers for an exciting steeplechase final
The fun thing about the steeplechase at this year’s Trials is that there are no clear favorites. Slight favorites, sure, but no one feels like a lock. In the prelims, a handful of women looked really good, and it’s hard to tell who was holding back, and how much. Gabbi Jennings had the fastest time of the day (9:23.88), but many athletes were focused on advancing, rather than trying to outkick anyone. The biggest surprise was probably that last year’s U.S. champion, Krissy Gear, didn’t crack the top five in her heat, and she had to advance on time, but her status was never really in doubt.
The MVP of the prelims was Angelina Ellis, who fell over a barrier mid-race and did a jarring belly flop on the track. It was incredible that she was even able to get up and finish the race, but she also passed two people in the last 100m and leaned at the finish to get the final auto qualifying spot in her heat, running 9:33.11. I hope the fall didn’t do any lasting damage.
And it was tough to see Gracie Hyde of Adams State miss out on the prelims by 0.01 seconds, especially because the person who edged her out wasn’t even in her heat. Hyde’s former Arkansas teammate, Logan Jolly, ran 9:33.91 in the first heat and advanced, while Hyde ran 9:33.92 in the second heat and did not. But Hyde is entered in the 1500m, too, so the Trials aren’t over for her yet.
The steeplechase final takes place Thursday night at 10:18 p.m. ET, and it will air on the USA Network and Peacock.
Other Trials notes
This was the third consecutive Trials 800m final that included a major fall. In addition to Athing Mu this year and Nia Akins in 2021, Alysia Montaño fell late in the race in 2016. This is the best video I can find of it, and eight years later, it’s still heartbreaking. The unexpected winner of that race? Kate Grace, who turned out to be pretty good at 800m running.
Emily Infeld said in an Instagram post that as of two weeks ago, she is training on her own. She was previously with Team Boss. She also indicated that the injury she has been dealing with is in her Achilles.
Courtney Wayment said after her steeplechase prelim that she has had a lot of personal struggles in the past year, but she also said that she has the best support system.
Other News
Yesterday, Runner’s World’s Cindy Kuzma and Sarah Lorge Butler broke the story that coach Mark Wetmore’s contract will not be renewed by the University of Colorado, when it expires at the end of this month. Associate head coach Heather Burroughs and recruiting coordinator and assistant coach Shaun Wicen are also out. Last year, an internal investigation into the CU program found that the body composition testing negatively impacted a significant number of athletes. Given the other details revealed in the report, I was surprised that Wetmore kept his job for as long as he did.
A few podcasts
I really enjoyed hearing from Rachel Smith on the Hurdle podcast. She’s been through some really tough stuff in recent years but she has such a great outlook.
I appreciated Kara Goucher’s behind-the-scenes details from the broadcast booth at the Trials on the latest episode of Nobody Asked Us.
Citius Mag caught up with Emma Coburn and Molly Seidel in Eugene.
Thanks again to Brooks for making this Olympic Trials coverage possible. And to Gregorio Denny for the fantastic photos he’s taking for Fast Women in Eugene. I’m also grateful to those of you who help keep Fast Women going with your support on Venmo and Patreon.
Alison
Great post. Is this how you saw the fall, "Athing Mu got clipped from behind 200m into the race and fell hard?" I watched it 10 times at .25 speed and this is what I saw:
Mu slid half a lane to her left, then after moving over. Mu then turned her head to her left just before she went down. It is not clear to me that Mu was clipped, although if she was, she bears a great deal of responsibility for it as she slid directly in front of Rogers in tight traffic. It appeared more likely to me that Mu's back kick clipped Rogers, causing Mu to lose balance and fall.
Either way, it was an awful result for Mu, but even more so for Sage Hurta-Klecker, an innocent party whose race was ruined my Mu's fall. Moving forward, I'm very excited to see what Akins (now #4 in the world) and her teammates can do in Paris.