City of Trenton welcomes Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu home with a parade

Residents of Trenton celebrated hometown hero Athing Mu with a big parade on Sunday.
The parade began at her alma mater, Trenton Central High School, and ended with a ceremony at City Hall.
Gov. Phil Murphy and other elected officials attended the event that was organized by Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora’s office. Gusciora presented Mu with a key to the city.
On Aug. 3, Mu, 19, became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the 800-meter race since 1968. She won a second gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay.
Mu’s parents emigrated from Sudan, and she is the second youngest of seven siblings. Born in Trenton, Mu graduated from Trenton Central High School in 2020 as an honors student. She ran with the Trenton Track Club growing up in the city and was coached by Al Jennings. In 2020, Track and Field News named her the national high school indoor athlete of the year. She ran for Texas A&M for the 2020-21 academic year before deciding to go pro this June, when she signed a contract with Nike.


Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.