U.S. runner Athing Mu brought home the bacon after winning gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last August 3, 2021, with a time of 1:55:22 for the 800-meter run. She only turned 19 years two months before the sports event.
She is the first American woman to be awarded a gold medal since Madeline Manning brought home the gold in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Mu gave God the glory on Twitter after winning the event.
Mu, the daughter of Sudanese immigrants, was born in 2002 and the second youngest of seven siblings. Her family lives in Trenton, New Jersey. Still, she just finished her freshman year at Texas A&M. Mu decided she will turn pro and waive her three remaining years of collegiate eligibility.
Pat Henry, Mu’s coach at her current university, said that Mu is the best female athlete he has encountered through the years.
“She is a fantastic athlete. I’ve been doing this [for] 48 years. She’s the best female athlete I’ve ever had,” Henry told A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion, in June.
Mu became the 10th fastest woman in the 800m collegiate record that transpired this year. She has also joined the national competition in the 400 m and the 1,500 m.
Mu gives God the glory through all her victories.
“As a follower of Christ, our main goal is to live in the image of Jesus in order to connect to God and ‘get to God,” Mu told The Battalion in June. “I believe when God is ready to give you blessings, He gives it to you with all intentions. In this case, ‘keeping one at the top, never at the bottom.'”
Mu was alluding to Deuteronomy 28:13 when she mentioned the “top” and “bottom.” The Bible (KJV) says, “And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:”
She said that running is how she wants to please God with her gift. With her gift, she wants to glorify God with it.
“The only thing I can do is thank God because without Him, I wouldn’t be able to do anything I’ve done this season,” she told WomensRunning.com last week. “I think He’s really awakened me with one thing, especially, that’s confidence. That’s one thing I’ve really gained this year as a collegiate athlete, having confidence in all I do because I do have the capability; I was made for this.
“It’s really been a special year. I didn’t expect this all to happen. I came to college with no expectations. I was hoping to improve, maybe, and if not, it’d be fine because I have a couple years of college left, so it’s pretty special.”