World U20 800m champion Sarah Moraa has explained why her cousin Mary Moraa is the best and how she works hard to emulate her.

Both Moraas are trained by experienced coach Alex Sang, and Sarah says the way Mary does her things is her main source of inspiration.

“She is the best. But I work hard to be with her. She inspired me so much, with so many things. The way she does things really motivates me,” Sarah told World Athletics in regard to Mary.

Sarah came into the global limelight during the World Athletics U20 Championship in Lima, Peru. Before the games, Sarah had the perfect motivation to conquer the world given that Mary is the 800m champion at the senior level.

Sarah revealed how Mary kept encouraging her before and during the global showpiece: “Work hard and get gold for my country,” Sarah said, referring to a text from her cousin.

Sarah’s tactics in the 800m looked strange in comparison to how the race has been run in recent years.

When it began, she shot to the front as she took advantage of her sprinting background to outsprint her rivals. She passed the 200m mark in 28.05, and when she’d got the lead, she then slowed it down, the field bunched behind her as a 31.83-second 200m took Moraa to halfway in 59.88.

Claudia Hollingsworth of Australia, who had the quickest personal best in the field, was right on her shoulder as Moraa then began to shift through the gears again, the third 200m covered in 30.38, World Athletics explains.

She had everyone on the stretch by that point, and in the home straight, both Hollingsworth and USA’s Sophia Gorriaran loomed up on her outside, trying to get past, but Moraa had something left, kicking on, drawing clear, and hitting the line in 2:00.36 to become the world U20 champion.

Sarah’s background

She first took up the sport when she was 12, although none of her parents had any background in athletics. Before she focused fully on athletics, she tried her hand at volleyball and football.

She later focused solely on sprints running 200m and 400m in her mid-teens, typical inspiration from Mary. Sarah later shifted to 800m as her specialty.

At 17 years of age, she qualified for the semi-finals at last year’s Kenyan Championships, and after finishing her secondary education, athletics became fully her commitment.

This year, Sarah had a busy schedule given that she was chasing tickets to three major events: the African Championships, the Olympics, and the World U20 Championships.

Although at the Kenyan Championships in May she earned silver in 2:02.36, she finished third at the Kenyan Olympic trials when she clocked 1:59.39, just shy of the Olympic qualifying standard of 1:59.30.

At the African Championships in Douala, Cameroon, she won gold in 2:00.27.