World 800m champion Mary Moraa displays her gold medal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on August 29, 2023 upon arrival from Budapest, Hungary.
Newly-crowned world 800m champion Mary Moraa was just seven years old when Jelimo and Jepkosgei rose to the Olympic podium
The 23-year-old Moraa helped Kenya recapture the 800m crown after a decade, stunning Mu and Hodgkinson to second and third places respectively during the final
She said it has been a good journey, adding that she couldn’t have succeeded without her coach, Alex Sang, whom she thanked for his patience
A majestic Pamela Jelimo made history as the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic gold medal by winning the 800 metres final at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
It had taken the country 36 years to not only win gold, but any medal at the Olympics before Jelimo guided 2007 world champion Janeth Jepkosgei to a 1-2 sweep of the two-lap race at the Beijing “Bird’s Nest” Stadium.
