Reigning world under-20 800m champion Sarah Moraa has narrated how three-time Olympic 1500m champion inspired her to victory in the women’s 800m at the World Under-20 Championships in Peru, Lima.
In an interview after winning the race, Sarah noted that before the 800m final, she watched a couple of races to get the tactics she could use to ensure she claimed the title or finished in the podium bracket.
She disclosed that watching the unfortunate turn of events that happened to Kipyegon in the women’s 5000m at the Olympics taught her to stay away from crowds during the race at all costs. In the race, Kipyegon and Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay were involved in an alteration.
After the race, Kipyegon who had finished second was disqualified for obstruction before an appeal was filed and her silver reinstated.
Follow the Pulse Sports Kenya X handle for more updates.
“This is the first World Championship I have raced and I wasn’t sure about winning this race but by good luck, I was fortunate enough to win and I’m very excited. Before the race, I kept watching other races, not just the 800m,” Sarah said.
“I watched Faith Kipyegon’s race at the Olympics and I did not want what happened to her to happen to me. I didn’t want to be squeezed by other athletes. With about 200m to go, I knew they (my opponents) had taken the win but I put in the work and won the race,” she added.
In the race, the 18-year-old clocked 2:00.36 to win the race in great fashion. However, she will not be resting on her laurels after the feat and has disclosed plans to go back to training.
She noted that missing out on the Paris Olympic Games bruised her ego and she would not want the same to happen to her at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
“I’m not going to end my season, I will continue training hard because when I missed the Olympics, I felt really bad and I don’t want to miss the World Championships next year,” she added.
