800m title: Mary Moraa fights for her legacy

At the Hungarian capital, Moraa timed 1 minute and 56.03 seconds to win gold ahead of Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson (1:56.34) and Athing Mu (1:56.61) of the United States of America.

The Kenyan then broke into a jig that captured the attention of the world. But times have changed. These days, Moraa’s jigs have become few and far between, and this has coincided with the rise of her opponents.

At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Moraa timed 1:57.42 to claim bronze in the final behind the winner, Hodgkinson, who triumphed in 1:56:71, followed by Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma in 1:57.15.

Read: Chebet, Kipyegon and Wanyonyi crown glorious evening for Kenya in Tokyo

This season, Moraa did not compete in the Rabat Diamond League on May 25, where Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma won in 1:57.42. Duguma finished second in 1:57.83 in the Bauhaus Diamond League meeting in Switzerland held on June 14 and 15 behind Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell, who timed 1:57.66.

Du Guma again triumphed in the women’s 800m race in the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meeting on May 5 in a time of 1:57.10 as Moraa faded to ninth in 2:00.51.

Because 800m was not on the menu, Moraa competed in a 1,000m race and finished 12th in 2:48.67 at the Monaco Diamond League Meeting on July 11. Moraa then skipped the London Diamond League, where Bell went on to win it in 1:56.74 on July 19.

In the Silesia Diamond League held on August 15 and 16, Hodgkinson won in 1:54.74, followed by Odira in 1:56.52. Hodgkinson (1:55.69) again triumphed over 800m in Lausanne Diamond League on August 19 and 20, followed by Audrey Werro from Switzerland (1:57.34), and Hunter Bell (1:57.55). Moraa did not compete.

Werro (1:55.91) won the 800m race in the Diamond League final in Zurich on August 27 and 28. Today, Moraa, who has a season best time of 1:56.03, teams up with her compatriots Sarah Moraa (1:567.53), and Lilian Odira (1:56.52) in the final.

They will come up against SagHurta-Klecker from the United States of America, who has a Personal Best time of 1:57.53, Hodgkinson (PB 1:54.74), who is the top-ranked athlete in the field, Werro (1:55.91), Bell (1:59.96), and Jessica Hull of Australia (1:57.15).

“Our aim was to reach the final. I am happy to see Sarah being reinstated to the team after suffering a fall, and this is good for the team. We will work hard in the final to deliver the medals,” Moraa said on September 20.

“Expect good things to come in the final,” she added. A Moraa win seals a remarkable performance by Kenyan women who, after yesterday’s programme, had won all the track gold medals from 1,500m to the marathon.