Moraa returns to action in style as she begins Paris Olympic preparation
Reigning World champion in women’s 800 Mary Moraa danced to victory on Saturday at the Nyayo Stadium during Athletics Kenya’s Third Track and Field weekend meet.
The ever-smiling Kenyan track queen clocked 51.97 in 400m, marking her return to action this year.
Moraa who had a stellar season last year is eager to take her sparkling athletics career to a notch higher with an Olympic medal part of her agenda this term having already pocketed a World Championship and Commonwealth Games gold medal in the women’s 800m.
The coach Alex Sang trained athlete noted that her race at the Nyayo Stadium was just the beginning of a busy 2024 calendar and that she was just testing the waters before embarking on a great return to conquer the world once again.
“The training is okay and we have just started with speed work and the season is still young. I came to this event to test my body and now I know where I stand after resuming training,” Moraa told People Sport after crossing the finish line.
Moraa, 23, who trains in Ngong will be seeking to make her mark at the Olympics Games having been unsuccessful in her first time in Tokyo three years ago where she was disappointingly eliminated in the semifinals of the two-lap race.
It is not clear whether she will take part in the World Indoor Championships set for Glasgow, Scotland in early March and the All African Games in Accra, Ghana the same month.
She has however expressed her desire to take part in the Athletics Kenya fourth Track and Field Weekend Meeting scheduled for her hometown Kisii in April.
Meanwhile, World record holder in Women’s 3000m steeplechase Beatrice Chepkoech has vowed to work extra hard with her focus on reclaiming a gold medal home for Kenya’s trade mark race.
The lanky 32-year old long distance runner dazzled in Monaco in 2018, clocking 8:44:32 to claim the World Record.
Last year during the 19th edition of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Chepkoech grabbed a silver medal after being overpowered by Winfred Yavi of Bahrain.
“God willing, this year we will reclaim our gold medal and bring it back home.I am just praying to God for good health and to be ready for the Paris Olympics.” Chepkoech said after completing her 5000m race at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday.
In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Ugandan girl Peruth Chemutai won the gold medal in the
