Mary Moraa clocked 1:57.42 to finish third to clinch Bronze during the Women’s 800m final of the Olympic games in Paris France.
Moraa, a world champion was edged to the gold by her rival Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson who timed 1:56.72 while Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma wound up second in 1:57.15.
The result prolongs Kenya’s wait for a gold medal at the event in the Olympics since Pamela Jelimo won it in 2008.It’s Kenya’s third bronze and the first since 2016 Rio Olympics Games Olympics.
‘’ The competition was tough,after doing the semis yesterday I felt muscle pull in my leg and had to see the Physiotherapist ,I tried my best and my target was to finish on the podium.in a competition you should expect anything and am glad that I finished third since everyone in a competition trains for the podium’’, remarked Moraa.
Hodgkinson moved up a gear with 200 metres to go, but Moraa did likewise and tried to move on to the Briton’s shoulder. Hodgkinson just about kept the world champion at bay on the final bend, but had saved an extra gear for the final stretch.
With victory in sight, Hodgkinson kicked one last time and powered away from a fading Moraa, who was passed in the closing stages by Duguma.
Hodgkinson, meanwhile, becomes only the 10th British woman to win athletics gold at a Games.
“I think [stepping on the podium] is when it will sink in and you will see some real emotion from me,” Hodgkinson said.
“I have worked really hard for the last year and I think you can see how much it meant to me when I crossed the line. I can’t believe I have finally done it!”
