Athing Mu undecided on Budapest, hints at moving to the runway for good

One of Track and Field’s biggest stars may be absent when the 2023 World Athletics Championships begin in Budapest on 19 August.

Athing Mu, the reigning world and Olympic champion at 800 meters, is still undecided whether she will run Worlds this year, according to her coach Bobby Kersee in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Kersee said Mu is still training and plans on entering Worlds but could decide to scratch before the meet.

Legacy-chasing Kipyegon open to chasing 800m glory

“It’s in our control if we decide we’re just going to go ahead and train through this year and focus on next year, then that’s what we’re going to do,” Kersee told the LA Times. “The training is going well but our thought process, openly, is that we’re going to just train here in L.A. for the next two weeks and the next time she gets on the plane it’ll either be on vacation or to Budapest.”

The world champion has only competed at two meets since winning her title in Eugene last year. She ran 1:58.73 to win the 800 at the USATF NYC Grand Prix on 24 June, then ran 4:03.44 to finish second in the 1500 at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene on 8 July.

She was scheduled to run the 400m at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis but has withdrawn from that meet.

The world class athlete seems to be leaning towards chasing her modeling dream.

“Modeling is 100% in my eye’s view. I honestly, I don’t know if I should say this - I make jokes all the time about me retiring within the next two years and just going to walk the runway. But I would love to go walk the runway, do editorial shoots. I would love to do anything in the fashion world,” she said in a recent podcast.

Mu, asked when she would know it was time to retire from running said “When I have no time to run track because I’m modeling too much? That’s literally it. Just checking off my goals. I think I am definitely happy with what I’ve done so far but there are some more things that I want to get done. So, if I do get a chance to accomplish these goals like win a double at a World Championships or whatever the case may be, I think realistically, because I know that there is something else I want to do, I would be okay with letting it go a little sooner than maybe someone else would.

And because I’ve been running for so many years, then I believe I would be absolutely fine with just taking the next step to do another career or be part of the sport as an ambassador or something.”