# Mary Moraa

Mary Moraa (born 15 June 2000) 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 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.

## 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.

## Career

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. 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.
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. She reached the semi-finals in her individual event at the Doha World Championships. Her season's best was 51.75 s. She made her debut in the 800 metres that year.
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.
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). The following month, she won a gold in the event at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games after storming through to beat Hodgkinson in the final. She went from first to last and back to first in that race. In September, Moraa became the Diamond League 800 m champion after she won final in Zürich.

## Personal life

She is the cousin of Kenyan runner Sarah Moraa. Mary Moraa has described her as her "kid sister" on social media.

## Achievements
### 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

Representing  Kenya :
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
| 2017 | World U18 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 22nd (h) | 200 m | 25.48 |
| 2017 | World U18 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 2nd | 400 m | 53.31 PB |
| 2017 | World U18 Championships | Nairobi, Kenya | 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 |
| 2019 | African Games | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 4th | 400 m | 51.97 |
| 2019 | African Games | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:32.93 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 18th (sf) | 400 m | 52.11 |
| 2019 | World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 11th (h) | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:17.09 |
| 2021 | World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | 13th (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:39.34 SB |
| 2021 | World Relays | Chorzów, Poland | – | 4 × 400 m mixed | DQ |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 15th (sf) | 800 m | 2:00.47 |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 3rd | 800 m | 1:56.71 PB |
| 2022 | Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 29th (h) | 400 m | 59.51 |
| 2022 | Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 800 m | 1:57.07 |
| 2022 | Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 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 |
| 2024 | Olympic Games | Paris, France | 3rd | 800 m | 1:57.42 |

### Circuit wins and titles, National titles

* Diamond League 800 metres champion: 2022
       800 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses
   * 2022: Stockholm Bauhaus-galan, Zürich Weltklasse
   * 2023: Rabat Meeting International (SB)
* Kenyan Athletics Championships
** 400 metres: 2019