The women’s 800m semi-finals at the 2024 US Track and Field Olympic Trials were nothing short of a nail-biter! The race was incredibly competitive, with Michaela Rose leading the pack for most of the race. But as the finish line approached, reigning Olympic champion Athing Mu and 2016 Olympian Kate Grace made their moves, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion.
In the final stretch, Rose, Mu, and Grace were neck and neck. In a tense moment, Rose and Grace bumped into each other right at the finish line. Grace, pushing hard, ended up crashing out of bounds into the scoreboard as she crossed the line. It was a heart-stopping finish with Athing Mu clinching the win thanks to her impressive kick, clocking in at 1:58.84. Kate Grace followed closely with a season-best 1:58.97, and Michaela Rose finished third in 1:59.00, having led the entire race.
The first semi-final was intense, with Mu and Grace overtaking Rose right at the line. Grace’s collision with the time clock was a dramatic sight, and she took quite a fall. The finish was messy, involving a flailing elbow from Rose and an inside pass from Grace, which may lead to an official protest or review.
EssentiallySports caught the action live, reporting that Kate Grace looked bruised with bleeding scratches on her hands and abdomen after the race. Despite the scare, Grace reassured everyone, saying to Chris Chavez, “Everything was clean. I didn’t hit my head. I came down hard on my arms and my legs and my hip but my head is what we care about the most.”
This semi-final saw Athing Mu and Kate Grace secure their spots in the women’s 800m final, joining a formidable lineup of U.S. Olympic Trials 800m finalists: Michaela Rose, Juliette Whittaker, Allie Wilson, Kristie Schoffield, Nia Akins, Raevyn Rogers, and Sage Hurta-Klecker.