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Kenyan athlete Mary Moraa expressed her satisfaction after setting a world-best time of 1:21.63 in the 600m at the ISTAF – a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting – in Berlin on Sunday.

Moraa, making her debut in the 600m event, broke the previous world best by 0.14 seconds, finishing 1.35 seconds ahead of Shafiqua Maloney in front of 40,500 spectators.

Mary Moraa thrilled

The Olympic bronze medallist from Kenya was thrilled with her performance.

“I am feeling so well and happy. To achieve this record on my first attempt is just overwhelming. I am so satisfied with the way I ran,” Moraa told World Athletics after the race.

Moraa, who initially specialized in the 400 metres, made her international debut at the World Under-18 Championships in Nairobi, winning a silver medal with a personal best time of 53.31 seconds.

The following year, she placed fifth in the 400m at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, with a new personal best of 52.85 seconds.

In 2019, Moraa secured the African U20 title and the Kenyan senior title in the 400m, and placed fourth at the African Games in Rabat, Morocco.

She reached the semi-finals of her individual event at the Doha World Championships, recording a season’s best of 51.75 seconds. That same year, she made her debut in the 800 metres.

Moraa transitioned to the 800 metres in 2020 and represented Kenya at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, 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 800m at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, clocking a personal best of 1:56.71, finishing behind Athing Mu and Keely Hodgkinson.

Mary Moraa Gold

The following month, she claimed gold in the 800m at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, defeating Hodgkinson in the final after an impressive comeback.

In September, Moraa capped off her season by becoming the Diamond League 800m champion after winning the final in Zürich.