Akins graduated in 2020, after a record-setting career at Penn
Four years after her final race as a Quaker, Nia Akins has punched her ticket to the Paris Olympics in dramatic style.
“I guess I am dreaming. “I am just speechless,” Akins told NBC Sports.
Athing Mu, a native of New Jersey, was the odds-on favorite going into competition this past Monday. However, the Tokyo Olympics 800m gold medalist suffered a complete disaster. After colliding immediately after the 200m mark, Mu was unable to maintain her lead over her competitors.
The collapse paved the way for Akins to seize the lead, which she maintained for the remainder of the race. Running an astounding personal record of 1:57.36, Akins won the trial to thunderous cheers, with Mu trailing behind.
Akins met a similar fate to Mu three years previously, at the 2020 United States Olympic Trials, which were held in 2021, as she crashed during the race. Akins, like Mu, finished ninth after her fall. This time, however, Akins was the one who benefited from the collapse.
Along with Akins, two more runners will make their Olympic debuts after outstanding results in the 800m event. Allie Wilson (1:58.32) and Juliette Whittaker (1:58.45) will finish out Team USA’s 800m lineup.
Akins’ time at Penn was nothing short of successful. During her time with the Red and Blue, she accumulated an outstanding list of accomplishments. Akins won nine races at the Ivy League Heptagonal Track and Field Championships and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships three times while at Penn. Akins was also named the 2019 Penn Relays College Athlete of the Meet, making him the first Penn athlete to receive the accolade.
“[Akins] always showed up at the big track meet when it was time, and she would always come through in that situation,” said women’s track and field coach Steve Dolan to The Daily Pennsylvanian in 2020. “She definitely leads by example with her hard work and ability to respond in big situations.”
Going into Monday night’s Trials against the strongest of competition, and off a disastrous finish in her previous Trials outing, Akins did what she did all those years ago at Franklin Field. She responded again in a major emergency.
