Mercy Adongo Oketch was a Form Two student at Owiro Akoko Secondary School in Migori in 2020 when Mary Moraa, an up and coming athlete then, made an offer she just couldn’t resist.
Moraa was then a Form Four student at Mogonga PAG Secondary School in Kisii County.
While in Form Two, Oketch represented her school at the regional championships held at Sawagongo High School in Siaya, where she finished second in 400m and was invited for junior athletics trials in Eldoret.
However, Oketch was withdrawn from the trials to play for Owiro Akoko at the sub-county final against Ulanda Girls High School.
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She lived up to her billing to score all the goals as her team hit Ulanda 5-0 to qualify for the county finals.
That is where Oketch’s nickname “Mercy the Champion” came from after her school mates praised her for her goal-scoring exploits.
However, Owiro Akoko Girls failed to play at the County championship under mysterious circumstances, something that left Oketch angry and disappointed.
And so, entered Moraa. “We closed school for a second term break but Mary Moraa approached me to join her at Mogonga for athletics. I had competed against her at school events and she knew about me. She wanted someone to partner with Aloice Morara now that she was about to leave Mogonga,” says Oketch.
A year earlier, Oketch had lined up against Moraa in 400m where she finished fourth as Moraa won at the nationals.
“I saw the talent in her back then even though we were both still young. And after she explained to me about her football woes I encouraged her to join me in Mogonga,” says Moraa.
But earlier, while in Form One at Owiro Akoko Girls, Siaya in 2017, Oketch had ditched athletics for football, becoming a lethal striker for the school.
National 400m record holder Mercy Adongo Oketch during the interview in Ngong on June 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“I have never played football since that sub county final,” she says without remorse.
Oketch would miss out selection to compete in the 2019 Africa Under-18 and Under-20 Championships in Cote d’Ivoire after finishing third behind Linda Kageha and Nelly Kipchirchir at the national trials.
But Oketch went on to win the 400m at the national secondary school games in Mombasa to qualify for the East African Secondary School Games in Arusha, Tanzania, where she claimed 4x400m silver with Morara and Sarah Moraa.
Fast forward. On Saturday, while Moraa, the reigning women’s 800m world champion, was competing in Philadelphia Grand Slam Track, her protégé Oketch was breaking her 400m national record at the Absa Kip Keino Classic title at the Ulinzi Sports Complex with a meet record 50.14 seconds.
The time set by the Africa Military Games 400m silver medallist was inside the qualifying time for the World Athletics Championships of 5.75.
“I am really happy and ecstatic for Oketch not only for qualifying to the world event but also breaking my national record. I am happy that she attributed her athletics move to me…it’s such a good feeling,” said Moraa.
It is six years since Kenya had female representation in 400m at the world championships since Hellen Syombua’s exploits at 2019 Doha. Moraa had qualified in 400m for 2019 Doha but opted to run in 800m.
National 400m record holder Mercy Adongo Oketch during the interview in Ngong on June 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Oketch, 22, says what greatly motivated her was her split of 49.98 seconds when she anchored Kenya’s 4x400m mixed relay team to bronze medal at the World Relay Championships in Guangzhou, China last month.
“It really shocked me…I wondered if it’s me who ran that fast. We had trained well, everything had fallen in place. That is why I was so sure of breaking the national record and world championships standards,” she said.
“I was lost for words at the Kip Keino Classic. I just couldn’t explain the joy I had..I felt like crying but there were no tears.”
Oketch, who is now positioned for her second appearance at the world championships after gracing the 2023 Budapest world event with the 4x40m mixed relay team, is confident of running under 50 seconds at the national trials in August.
“In fact, I am eyeing 48 seconds at the world championships, God willing. I want to further polish my starts. It really came out well at the Kip Keino Classic,” says Oketch.
Her potential was evident when she unsuccessfully attempted to qualify for the 2021 World Under-20 championships while in Form Four.
Mogonga Principal, Haron Onchonga, then connected Oketch with the Kenya Defence Forces where coach Josephine Nyarunda took charge of her in 2022.
National 400m record holder Mercy Adongo Oketch during the interview in Ngong on June 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Oketch’s highlight that year was a third place finish at the 2022 national championships in a personal best 53.98.
She then settled for a second place in 400m at the 2023 national championships in a new PB of 52.33 as her 4x400m mixed team that also had Moraa, Zablon Ekwam and Wycliffe Kinyamal ran a national record of 3:14.64 to qualify for the 2023 Budapest World Championships.
A second place finish in personal best 52.22 at the national trials fell short of securing her a place for the Budapest World Championships women’s 400m flat.
However, she was in the Kenya 4x400m mixed relay team that managed a seventh placed finish in the Budapest championships.
KDF snapped her up officially and she graduated as a soldier last year, returning the favour to her employers with a silver medal in 400m in 55.43 at the Africa Military Games and fourth place in 200m.
Mercy Oketch celebrates after winning the 400m race during the Absa Kip Keino Classic at the Ulinzi Sports Complex on May 31, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
In April this year, she finished second in a personal best, breaking the 52seconds barrier for the first time in 51.64, losing to Uganda’s Leni Shida ( 51.25) during the Kenyan trials at Nyayo National Stadium for the World Athletics Relays Championships.
Oketch says that her family, especially her father Gideon Duncan Oketch, Rose Duncan Oketch and her siblings have very support of her athletics career.
In a family of three boys and four girls, Oketch, who is the fifth born and only person pursuing sports.
“My father wanted all of us to study to university level but along the way he allowed me to chase my dream,” says Oketch. “He completely changed his perception when he saw me winning at Kip Keino Classic in 2023.
“He was so happy when I told him I was going to the World Championships. He always prays for me and blesses me whenever I go for events,” says Oketch.
