AS THE ENTRY LISTS populated in the days leading up to the meet, one name stood out at the bottom, in 4:16, far below the entry standard — Athing Mu, the Olympic 800 champion who also has a Wild Card spot at this year’s WC 2-lapper.
Would she run one lap and step off? Would she jog her heat? Neither. She ran a 6-second PR, 4:10.33, to advance to the final. But would she run the final?
Sure enough, there she was, with 10 other women, including all 3 members of last year’s WC team: the 31-year-old veteran Cory McGee; the defending champion, 25-year-old Sinclaire Johnson, and 27-year-old Heather MacLean. The latter two were the only runners in the field with sub-4:00 credentials.
Nevertheless, Mu — with her 49-second 400 speed — remained the singular unknown in the race. Could she have a breakthrough at this distance?
Though first-time finalist Laurie Barton took it out (63.79), the rest chose not to follow. Mu confidently led the chase pack, and soon she was in the lead, followed closely by the favored McGee and 19-year-old NAIA champion Addy Wiley, who had broken through with a 4:03 — an 8-second PR — a month earlier.
There was a lot of pushing and shoving in the early going. McGee called it “the most physical race I’ve been in in a while.” Said Nikki Hiltz, “It was very physical and chaotic.”
At the bell, Wiley and Mu were marginally at the front, but McGee quickly broke through on the inside as she and the taller Mu tore down the backstretch. “I was on her shoulder,” McGee said, “but on her inside shoulder.”
As they hit the crucial final straight, McGee valiantly trying to stay up with Mu, Hiltz found a lane and with just 50m to go flew by, running 58.80 for the last 400, while Johnson, farther to the outside, was desperately trying to get into the top 3.
The 28-year-old Hiltz’s mantra at that moment: “Just get to the line.”
“I love the 1500,” they said, “because of the strategy, and that was a race based on who could figure it out.” (Hiltz, who is biologically female but identifies as transgender non-binary, uses they/them pronouns.)
Johnson, stumbling at the finish, dove to the line but lost to McGee by 0.01. Mu got 2nd by 0.04.
“I’m sure no one really expected me to do much,” Mu said. “I definitely know that I can break 4:00.”
That will be for the future, as she later said she would run only the 800 in Budapest, giving Johnson the third spot on the team.
“I raced really poorly today,” Johnson said. “I have only myself to blame for that. For some reason, I was real nervous.”
FINAL (July 08)
1. Nikki Hiltz (lulu) 4:03.10 (14.22, 28.67, 58.80, 2:07.17, 3:13.85)
(49.25 [49.25], 66.68 [1:55.93], 68.37 [3:04.30], 58.80) ;
2. Athing Mu (Nike) 4:03.44 PR (14.76, 29.22, 59.35, 2:07.92, 3:14.87);
3. Cory McGee (NBal) 4:03.48 (14.77, 29.20, 59.20, 2:07.95, 3:14.31);
4. Sinclaire Johnson (NikeUAC) 4:03.49 (14.54, 28.94, 59.00, 2:07.79, 3:14.30);
5. Addy Wiley (Hunt) 4:04.25 (15.14, 29.69, 60.12, 2:07.94, 3:15.45);
6. Helen Schlachtenhaufen (Nike) 4:04.99 (15.15, 29.94, 60.60, 2:08.92, 3:15.54);
7. Heather MacLean (NBalB) 4:05.29 (60.87, 2:09.18, 3:16.17);
8. Emily Mackay (NBal) 4:06.82 (61.52, 2:10.62, 3:17.78);
9. Laurie Barton (BrkB) 4:09.49; 10. Anna Gibson (Brk) 4:09.58 PR; 11. Angel Piccirillo (PumaEl) 4:16.60;… dnf—Dani Jones (NBal).
HEATS (July 06)
I–1. Wiley 4:09.53; 2. McGee 4:09.62; 3. Mu 4:10.33 PR; 4. Alexina Teubel (TS) 4:13.37; 5. Melissa Tanaka (Ois) 4:13.49; 6. Alli Cash (Asics) 4:14.34; 7. Taryn Rawlings (adidas) 4:14.70; 8. Jenn Randall (TSCascEl) 4:15.15; 9. Ella Donaghu (NikeUAC) 4:15.25; 10. Savannah Shaw (NCSt) 4:18.41; 11. Ellie Shea (EmE) 4:20.11; 12. Natalie Cizmas (VNTC) 4:28.54.
II–1. Johnson 4:07.84; 2. MacLean 4:07.90; 3. Schlachtenhaufen 4:09.72; 4. Piccirillo 4:10.46; 5. Barton 4:10.98; 6. Gibson 4:11.98; 7. Abbe Goldstein (UArm) 4:13.82; 8. Micaela Degenero (Puma) 4:15.71; 9. Julia Heymach (BrkB) 4:19.47; 10. Maddy Berkson (TSRITC) 4:20.99; 11. Tracee Van Der Wyk (unat) 4:22.07; 12. Katie Follett (unat) 4:22.51.
III–1. Hiltz 4:11.55; 2. Mackay 4:12.24; 3. Jones 4:12.75; 4. Anna Camp-Bennett (adidas) 4:13.36; 5. Katie Camarena (unat) 4:13.62; 6. Christina Aragon (BowTC) 4:14.63; 7. Skylyn Webb (Sauc) 4:15.20; 8. Amelia Keyser-Gibson (CascEl) 4:19.90; 9. Teagan Schein-Becker (Rider) 4:20.04; 10. Anna Connor (TSCascEl) 4:23.22; 11. Anna Jurew (CPTC) 4:28.65; 12. Dani Aragon (EmpE) 4:36.39.