Mary Moraa of Kenya danced with joy as she celebrated a memorable women’s 800m gold at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest on Sunday 27 August.
The 23-year-old turned the podium from last year’s Worlds in Oregon on its head, with her bronze medal replaced by a shining gold as she ran a personal best time of 1:56.03 to beat off the challenge of defending champion Athing Mu of the USA who came third in 1:56.61 behind Team GB’s silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson (1:56.34 ).
As she passed the finish line, Moraa leapt into the air punching her fist to celebrate her second major international gold in a year after her victory at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Mu, who led from the beginning only to fade in the last 100m and Hodgkinson, who once again won silver after claiming the same medal at Tokyo 2020 and Oregon 22, made up the rest of the podium in Budapest.
The sheer joy of Moraa was evident for everyone in the stadium to see as she broke out into an impromptu dance on the track – a trademark of hers since her Commonwealth victory – with many Kenyan fans in the stands dancing along with her to celebrate. Even long after the race ended she lay on the floor draped in the Kenyan flag as if she didn’t want this moment to end.
But few would begrudge any of this joy to Moraa who has risen from a difficult childhood where she grew up as an orphan in a remote area of Kenya to her position now as a world champion.
This is an athlete who has truly shaken up the world of 800m over the past year, following the meteoric rise of the two 21-year-olds Mu and Hodgkinson threatened to turn the event into a two-person race.
And with one year to go until Paris 2024, this victory will confirm the brilliance of a new star of the two-lap distance who has taken her considerable talent to the heights of the World stage.