© Copyright – 2025 – Athletics Illustrated
William Shakespeare wrote in The Merry Wives of Windsor a line where the swaggering Pistol says, “Why, then the world’s mine oyster, which I with sword, will open.”
It was Athing Mu (later Mu-Nikolyev), then aged just 19, who used such graceful force to open her international career with the 2021 Tokyo Olympic 800 metre gold medal performance. She was the Queen.
However, the career and the scripted line from the play have both evolved. In contemporary times, Shakespeare’s line is now an aphorism, worded, “The world is your oyster,” meaning, you have success at your fingertips; take advantage.
What happened here?
As reported by Jonathan Gualt of Let’s Run, after two-plus disastrous years, Athing Mu-Nikolayev has moved on from her Los Angeles-based coach Bob Kersee.
Mu-Nikolayev is still young at age 23, so to athletics fans, it may feel as though the Trenton, NJ native spent a torturous Brian Wilson decade with a controlling guru. She has not. Mu-Nikolayev has the better part of her athletics career in front of her, if she wants it.
Mu-Nikolayev joined Kersee three years ago, at the height of the sport. At the time, she was the 2021 Tokyo Olympic and the 2022 Eugene World Athletics Championships gold medallist.
The move from coach Milton Mallard to Kersee was seen by many as odd, given that Kersee, while a successful coach, is known for his work with sprinters, not middle-distance runners in the 800m or 1500m event.
Mu-Nikolayev began to suffer under the weight of her performances and, at the same time, enjoyed a side gig as a fashion model. Then, at age 21, she cannot be blamed for some of her or Kersee’s mad decisions.
During her first year with Kersee in 2023, she competed only a few times. Mu-Nikolyev considered missing the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships. She went and did not successfully defend her Eugene title, taking only bronze. Part of this was also due to the rise of Mary Moraa of Kenya and Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain.
Mu-Nikolaev ended the 2023 season on a high note, and her career appeared to be back on track. She won the Prefontaine Classic in a new American record of 1:54.97. She was metaphorically a queen eating oysters, again.
A weird decision
In 2023, they decided (or Kersee decided) that Mu-Nikolayev should race the 1500m at the USATF Championships. This did not make sense as she clearly dominated the 800m event. Meanwhile, Kersee is a sprint coach – he should have “stayed in his lane,” as they say. At least with the 800m, some athletes are oriented to the 400-600m-800m range, meaning they are more of a sprinter than an aerobic-based athlete. She demonstrated range by finishing second, but the performance was not to her standard at 4:03.55.
The following year was a disaster.
The question floating around in the LA smog was, did Kersee run her through too many sprint repetitions, drills and weight work, as he may have with his sprinters?
A torn hamstring ahead of the 2024 Olympic Trials put her on the sidelines. She reached the finals, but she tripped and fell just 200m into the race, ending her season. She finished dead last.
Mu-Nikolayev’s return in 2025 was a struggle. Weirdly, someone decided that she should enter a 5,000m race in April. When she finally raced the 800m at the Prefontaine Classic in July, she appeared unfit for her standards and finished last in a pedestrian 2:03.44.
Mu-Nikolayev could have 10-plus years of world-class racing in front of her right now. She could make a career of it and retire in an enviable position. She will need to settle in with the right coach and focus first on training and racing well, and secondly on distractions like modelling and public pressure.
She could win again, and maybe Hollywood will give her a J-Lo-like nickname: “Mu-Ni.” Okay, perhaps not, but she could put herself back in that conversation about a queen royally opening oysters.
