(Reuters) – Olympic 800 metres gold medallist and world champion Athing Mu will be coached by track great Bob Kersee, the 20-year-old American said on social media on Wednesday.
Mu, the youngest woman to win both an Olympic and a world individual title in track, will relocate from Texas to Los Angeles to train with Kersee, one of the most successful coaches in U.S. history.
He trained wife Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a three-times Olympic gold medallist, and the United States’ most decorated track and field athlete Allyson Felix until she hung up her spikes this year.
“Coach Kersee has the capability to further enhance by running skills and implement the tools needed to reach my greatest potential,” Mu said on Twitter.
Kersee also coaches 400 metres hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin, with whom Mu collected relay gold in Tokyo last year. Mu will have a bye into her key event at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Toby Davis)
