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Kenyan sprinter and middle-distance runner (born 2000) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary Moraa (born 15 June 2000)[2] is a Kenyan athlete who specialises in the 800 metres. She won the gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a bronze medal in the event at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and a gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Moraa at the 2021 Memorial Van Damme in Brussels | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Born | 15 June 2000 Obwari, Nyanza Province, Kenya (now Kisii County, Kenya) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Kenya |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 400 metres, 800 metres |
| Coached by | Alex Sang |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Highest world ranking | 1st (800 m, 2023)[1] |
| Personal bests | |
Medal record | |
Moraa is the Kenyan record holder for the 400 metres. She was the 2022 Diamond League 800 m champion. She also holds the world best in the 600 metres.
Moraa was orphaned at age 2 after the death of her father and then her mother. She grew up with her grandparents, in Kisii in western Kenya. She won an education bursary through running.[3]
Mary Moraa specialized in the 400 metres distance until 2021. She made her international debut at the World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi and won the silver medal in the event with a personal best time of 53.31 seconds.[2] The following year, the 18-year-old placed fifth over the same distance at the World U20 Championships held in Tampere, Finland, clocking new best of 52.85 s in the heats.[2]
In 2019, she won in the 400 m the African U20 title, Kenyan senior title, and placed fourth at the African Games held in Rabat, Morocco.[2] She reached the semi-finals in her individual event at the Doha World Championships.[2] Her season's best was 51.75 s.[2] She made her debut in the 800 metres that year.[4]
Moraa transitioned to the 800 metres in 2020, and represented Kenya at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 competing in the event, where she was eliminated in the semi-finals with a time of 2:00.47.[2][5]
In July 2022, Moraa won the bronze medal in the 800 m at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, clocking a personal best of 1:56.71 behind Athing Mu (1:56.30) and Keely Hodgkinson (1:56.38).[6] The following month, she won a gold in the event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games after storming through to beat Hodgkinson in the final.[7] She went from first to last and back to first in that race.[8] In September, Moraa became the Diamond League 800 m champion after she won final in Zürich.
She is the cousin of Kenyan runner Sarah Moraa.[9][10] Mary Moraa has described her as her "kid sister" on social media.[11]
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | World U18 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 22nd (h) | 200 m | 25.48 |
| 2nd | 400 m | 53.31 PB | |||
| 4th | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:24.92 | |||
| 2018 | World U20 Championships | Tampere, Finland | 5th | 400 m | 52.94 |
| 2019 | African U20 Championships | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 1st | 400 m | 53.57 |
| African Games | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 4th | 400 m | 51.97 | |
| 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:32.93 | |||
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 18th (sf) | 400 m | 52.11 | |
| 11th (h) | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:17.09 | |||
| 2021 | World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | 13th (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:39.34 SB |
| – | 4 × 400 m mixed | DQ | |||
| Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 15th (sf) | 800 m | 2:00.47 | |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 3rd | 800 m | 1:56.71 |
| Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 29th (h) | 400 m | 59.51 | |
| 1st | 800 m | 1:57.07 | |||
| 5th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:32.28 | |||
| 2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 1st | 800 m | 1:56.03 PB |
| 2024 | African Games | Accra, Ghana | 1st | 400 m | 50.57 |
| Olympic Games | Paris, France | 3rd | 800 m | 1:57.42 |
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