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Mary Moraa
Kenyan sprinter and middle-distance runner (born 2000) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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.
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Background
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]
Career
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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.
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Personal life
She is the cousin of Kenyan runner Sarah Moraa.[9][10] Mary Moraa has described her as her "kid sister" on social media.[11]
Achievements
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Personal bests
- 400 metres – 50.38 (Nairobi 2023) NR
- 800 metres – 1:56.03 (Budapest 2023)
- 800 metres indoor – 2:00.61 (Liévin 2023)
International competitions
Circuit performances
Wins and titles
- Diamond League 800 metres champion:
2022[13]
- 800 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses
National titles
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References
External links
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