EditorialMembers of the U.S. team, Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu, and Sydney Mclaughlin, from left, celebrate winning the gold medal in the women's 4 x 400-meter relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
EditorialMembers of the U.S. team, Allyson Felix, Dalilah Muhammad, Athing Mu, and Sydney Mclaughlin, from left, celebrate winning the gold medal in the women's 4 x 400-meter relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
EditorialAthing Mu of the United States gets a hug after winning gold in the women's 800-meter final at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times)
EditorialAthing Mu of the United States, center, looks at the final time after winning gold in the women's 800-meter final at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. (Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times)
EditorialAthing Mu, a middle distance prodigy who just turned 19, ran away from the field to easily win the women’s 800 meter race in 1:56.07, Sunday, June 27, 2021, at the United States track and field Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore. (Alexandra Garcia/The New York Times)
EditorialAthing Mu, 17, whose signature distance is the half-mile, at the College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J., May 21, 2020. (Michelle Gustafson/The New York Times)