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Mary Moraa reveals what cost her glory at Tokyo Olympics as she seeks to make ammends in Paris

Mary has disclosed what cost her a medal at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and what she has done differently to ensure she is lethal in Paris.

Reigning world 800m champion Mary Moraa has disclosed what cost her a medal at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and what she has been doing in training to avoid a repeat of the same.

At the Tokyo Olympic Games, the reigning world champion was eliminated in the semifinal after she finished third.

The race was eventually won by Athing Mu, who will unfortunately not be defending her title after falling at the U.S. Olympic trials and ended up finish ninth in the final of the women’s 800m.

Speaking about her experience in Tokyo, the 24-year-old noted that she was yet to master how the 800m well and the event was more of a learning curve. However, at the moment, Moraa noted that she knows better and she has the skills when it comes to running the 800m from the preliminaries, to the semifinal and to the final and eventually win a race.

She added that the team has been training well and she has enjoyed the company of Vivian Chebet and Lilian Odira who will be making Olympic debuts, competing in the 800m.

“I reached the semifinal in 2020 and now my big target is to reach in the final and get a medal. We have been training well as a group, I, Lilian and Vivian have been working together in training and we pray that God gives us energy so that when we get to the Olympics, we are able to run well and get to the final and bring back medals,” Moraa said.

“In Tokyo, I had not mastered the art of running the 800m well but now I have the experience and I know how I can run and get to the final and get a medal,” she added.

Moraa faces tough opposition at the Olympic Games, going up against Briton Keely Hodgkinson who finished second in Tokyo. Nonetheless, she is not putting pressure on herself ahead of her Olympic return.

She will certainly be more confident, thanks to the gold medal she won at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Vivian Chebet's story of luck from finishing fifth at Olympic trials to receiving late call up to women's 800m team

Vivian Chebet had already lost hope of making the Olympic team after finishing fifth at the Kenyan Olympic trials but luck knocked on her door and she will be flying Kenya's flag high in the women's 800m following new developments.

Vivian Chebet, the latest addition in the women’s 800m team to the Paris 2024 Olympics had already given up on her dream of making it to the global stage this season.

At the Kenyan Olympic trials, Chebet finished fifth and she knew there was no chance for her to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris, France.

However, Mary Moraa’s sister cousin, Sarah Moraa, who finished third, failed to attain the qualifying time before the deadline and was forced to pull out of the Games.

That is when Chebet, who never thought luck would visit her, received a call inquiring whether she would want to join Moraa and Lilian Odira to the Olympic Games.

She noted that the news came as a surprise to her, however, she had prepared well and was ready for the huge task that awaited her.

“It was surprise somehow because I was well-prepared to join the team and when we held the trials and I was number five, I knew that I had missed the golden opportunity,” she told the media on Thursday, July 11.

“After sometime, I was called and asked if I could join Odira and Mary and that’s when I was surprised because I had already surrendered,” she added.

Chebet had qualified for the Olympics via world rankings and this season, she had claimed a bronze medal in the women’s 800m at the African Games.

She added that training alongside Moraa, the reigning world champion, is a morale booster since she is able to learn a lot from her.

“Being with Moraa is a morale booster because at least we are able to rectify each other’s mistakes because no one is perfect. If I don’t run well, she comes and tells me and I also try and be of help to her. Training as a team is something very helpful,” she added.