The 2023 World 800 meters Champion Mary Moraa braved torrential downpour on the track to claim victory in her traditional 800m race at the Zurich leg of the Diamond League.
Fresh from setting a world record in the rarely run women’s 600m, Olympic bronze medalist Mary Moraa continued with her strong end to the season on a high note.
Moraa set a winning time of 1:57.08, capping off what was a well-calculated race in Switzerland.
The victory is Moraa’s third in the Diamond League this season, following wins in Doha and Laussane.
There was an early scare for Moraa when Vincetian middle-distance runner Shafiqua Maloney broke to a rapid start, timing a blistering 55.60 in the first 400m.
With 300m to go, Moraa had fallen to third after American Addison Wiley accelerated past, only for the Kenyan to produce a furious comeback on the final bend.
From then on, it was all about Moraa’s final time, as she in her tradmark kick, put a distance between herself and Georgia Bell, who came in second timing 1:57.94.
In a packed race of 12, Moraa did well to pluck herself into good space straight form the gun, avoiding the overcrowding that came with the race.
The pace setters took the group through 55.06 in the first 400m. Moraa kept her patience, just ensuring she guarded her space heading to the bell.
At the backstraight, she began employing her finishing kick and glided to the front. By the time the group was approaching the home stretch, Moraa was all but gone, and she did enough to secure her victory.