The Olympic Games in Tokyo are heating up and one athlete from Trenton says she is ready to leave her mark on the track.

Athing Mu has been running for as long as she can remember. But she says that it wasn’t until she watched the 2016 Rio Olympics that she realized what she could achieve with that skill.

“I think after that moment I was like, ‘Dang, I want to be out there for the team. That’s freaking awesome that they’re out there doing this,’” Mu says.

Five years later at the Olympic trials, Mu crushed the competition in the 800-meter event to make her first Olympic team.

“One of my family members were actually crying and I think that’s really when everything kind of hits you – when you see someone else that you’re really close to shed tears and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, this is the moment. This is really what I’m doing,’” Mu says.

In the last year, Mu graduated from Trenton Central High School and had a standout freshman season competing for Texas A&M. She says that the COVID-19 delay helped her better prepare for Tokyo.

“I was ready – probably physically ready – but mentally, I don’t think I was 1,000% there as much as I am now in 2021,” says Mu. “So having that COVID year helped out a lot. It’s made me more confident.”

The 19-year-old says that she is not only proud to represent herself and her country in the Olympics, but also New Jersey.

“A lot of people downplay Jersey. They're like, ‘What's Jersey?’ So just knowing I'm one of those athletes now who made it this far and am getting ready for the Olympics as Olympians, is definitely really special,” she says.

The women's 800-meter final is next Tuesday.