2 NJ athletes grab Olympic 2020 gold medals, break world records
Two Olympic gold medals in the same day for New Jersey, as Sydney McLaughlin, of Dunellen, and Athing Mu, of Trenton, won their track events with blazing speed in Tokyo.
The 21-year-old McLaughlin won the Women's 400M hurdles — breaking her own world record — while 19-year-old Mu won the Women's 800M, hours apart on day 12 of the summer Olympic games.
Their home communities were cheering them, with viewing parties hosted by Union Catholic Regional High School (which McLaughlin graduated from in 2017) and the Trenton Track Club, respectively.
On Tuesday night, the city of Trenton honored Mu by lighting up the "Trenton Makes" bridge in red, white and blue. The photo first shared to Twitter by Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora also was shared by Gov. Phil Murphy.
Texas A&M University, where Mu broke records as a college freshman before going pro and cementing her road to Tokyo, also shared in the congratulations on Twitter joking "Does the A&M stand for Athing Mu now?"