Sarah Moraa, cousin to world 800 metres champion Mary Moraa, is on a mission to build her own name.
She bagged Kenya’s second gold medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, on Friday with a supreme performance in the women’s 800m and promptly set her sights on next year’s senior global championships.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held in Tokyo, Japan from August 19 to 27. Moraa revealed that missing the chance to represent Kenya at the Olympic Games after failing to hit the qualifying time despite winning the 800m race at the national trials, only motivated her to work harder.
“There is no resting and I will be going back home to start preparing for the World Championships next year. “My plan is to get qualification early. “I missed the Olympic Games narrowly just because of the qualifying time and I didn’t feel good about that. But that is gone and I’m now focused on the next assignment,” said Moraa.
She won the women’s 800m at the 2024 African Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon in June clocking 2:00.27.
She showed her hunger in Lima on Friday, leading from gun to tape to cross the finishing line in 2:00.36, ahead of Australia’s Claudia Hollingsworth who clocked 2:00.87 while USA’s Sophia Gorriaran won a bronze medal in 2:01.04. Marion Jepngetich, 18, settled for a silver medal in women’s 3,000m after running 8:52.37.
Ethiopia’s Aleshign Baweke won the race in 8:50.32 while her compatriot Marta Alemayo settled for a bronze medal in 8:53.64.
Kenya’s other representative Mercy Chepkemoi finished a distant ninth in 9:10.54. Jepngetich, a first born child in a family of five, dedicated her medal to her late sister who was in Grade Eight at Chepkurmum Primary School in Uasin Gishu County and a rising distance runner.
Jepngetich said it was a tough time for her but her coach Julien Di Maria motivated her to go and do well in honour of her sister.
“It was a painful process when I lost my sister and at the same time I was preparing to represent my country in this event. My coach asked me to just do my best in the distance as one way of honouring her because she was also an athlete. She competed up to the regional level in the school’s category,” she told Nation Sport on phone from Lima on August 31.
Sarah Moraa wins the 800m during 2nd Athletics Kenya Meeting at Ulinzi Sports Complex on January 6, 2024.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Kenya missed the podium positions in men’s 800m with Phanuel Koech finishing fifth in 1:47.46 and Kelvin Kimutai seventh in 1:48.95.
Ethiopia’s General Berhanu Ayansa won the gold medal in 1:46.86 as Australia’s Peyton Craig claimed silver in 1:46.95 while Japanese Ko Ochiai clocked 1:47.03 for bronze.
Despite clocking a new Kenyan men’s under-20 10,000m race walk record of 40:37.54 Stephen Ndangiri could only manage a ninth position.
Tunisia’s Rayen Cherni clocked a championships record of 39:24.85 to claim gold as Mexico’s Emiliano Barba timed 39:27.10 for silver and Italy’s Giuseppe Disabato settled for third place in 39:31.25.
