(Reuters) – Athing Mu lost the chance to defend her Olympic 800m title in Paris after crashing to the ground and trailing home last at the U.S. trials on Monday, while Quincy Hall upstaged Michael Norman to win the men’s 400m in Eugene, Oregon.
The trials had largely gone to script on the first three days but Mu’s calamity stunned the crowd at Hayward Field.
The 2022 world champion and hot favorite tripped around the 200m mark and while she bravely carried on she had no chance of catching up to the field.
Nia Akins (1:57.36) came home first while Allie Wilson (1:58.32) and Juliette Whittaker (1:58.45) also earned their place in the event.
Hall put on the best performance of his career as he chased down 2022 world champion Norman after the final turn to win the 400m in 44.17.
Norman paid the price for going out too quickly, losing steam down the home stretch to finish in 44.41.
“I know I can run a lot faster than what I did today. Just a poorly executed race,” Norman told reporters. “Kind of got a little too excited during the moment so I paid for it at the end.”