Africa Under-20 champ Moraa eager to lower her time at AK meet

World U-18 400m silver medalist and Africa Under-20 champion Mary Moraa has said she intends to use this weekend’s Athletics Kenya Track and Field meet at the Nyayo Stadium, to improve on her third-place finish in the first edition held in Eldoret a fortnight ago.

Moraa says harsh weather conditions and the hard running surface in Eldoret made it difficult for her to display her best form.

“The Eldoret edition was a bit tough for me since the weather was harsh, and the running surface was hard.

“I’m hopeful that the conditions at the Nyayo Stadium will help me to improve my speed and also improve on my time.”

She says she has prepared well for the second edition and is ready to compete against the best athletes in her race.

“I have prepared well for the second meet and trust God I will improve on my last performance,” She told Citizen Digital.

Having excelled at the youth level, she says she is ready to compete at the top and has set her sights on representing Kenya in this year’s Olympic Games set for Tokyo, Japan.

“My objective is to transit swiftly into the senior level and hopefully represent Kenya in this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.”

The 19-year-old recently announced that she would specialize in both 400m and 800m specialties.

She stormed into the global scene when she overcame a daunting men’s challenge to strike gold for Kenya in the 4x400m mixed relay at the 2017 World U-18 Championships that were held at the MISC Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

This edition will be followed by the third meeting slated for Embu on March 21-22 before the fourth and final leg moves to Kisumu on May 4-5.

The weekend meetings will culminate in the national championships that will also serve as the trials for Africa Championships earmarked for Algeria on June 24-28.