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Mary Moraa opens up on illness that nearly ended her athletics career
Reading Time: 3min | Thu. 28.05.26. | 16:03
The 2023 World Champion has now disclosed that she suffered sudden dizziness and extreme weakness during the championships, forcing her to seek urgent medical attention after the final
When Paris Olympics 800m bronze medalist Mary Moraa crossed the finish line seventh in the women’s 800m final at the Tokyo World Championships, many were left stunned.
For Kisii Express, as she is affectionately known in athletics circles, dominance in the two-lap race had become almost routine; the result raised eyebrows across the athletics world.
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Moraa clocked a season’s best of 1:57.10 in the final, a race in which she had looked destined for a podium finish after taking charge early and dictating the pace for the better part of the contest.
However, she faded drastically in the closing stages as her compatriot Lilian Odira stormed to gold in a championship record time of 1:54.62.
What fans did not know then was that Moraa was fighting through a serious medical condition.
The 2023 World Champion has now disclosed that she suffered sudden dizziness and extreme weakness during the championships, forcing her to seek urgent medical attention after the final.
“It’s by the grace of God that I am competing again. I almost threw in the towel a while ago owing to a medical condition, but I am glad that it has been fully addressed.
I experienced general weakness and dizziness at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo,” Moraa revealed.
Ironically, there had been little sign of trouble in the early rounds of the competition. Moraa had comfortably won her heat in 1:58.44 before returning to dominate her semi-final in 1:58.40, looking every bit a favourite for another global medal.
But the final proved to be a different story.
“I thought all was well after going through to the finals at the worlds, but the situation worsened at the tail end of the final, leading to urgent medical attention. I stayed behind for treatment as Team Kenya left Tokyo for Nairobi,” she added.
The Olympic 800m bronze medalist said the illness triggered months of recovery, uncertainty, and emotional struggle as she contemplated ending her athletics career.
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After undergoing several medical tests and treatment programmes, Moraa says doctors finally cleared her to return to training a few weeks ago.
“After several tests and treatment, the doctors gave me a clean bill of health a few weeks ago to resume training and competition.
I want to thank a combined team of doctors from Team Kenya, Tokyo, Aga Khan, Nairobi, and Kenyatta National Hospitals for the good care, advice, and assistance,” she said.
Her road back to the track officially began on Wednesday, 27 May at the National Police Service Championships held at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
Although competing in the women’s 400m rather than her speciality, Moraa still showed flashes of her trademark brilliance, clocking 53.68 seconds to finish second and announce her return to competitive athletics.
The Commonwealth Games champion is now targeting selected Diamond League races later this season as she works towards full fitness ahead of next year’s World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
“I hope to compete in a few Diamond League events at the tail end, as I look forward to next season, which will have the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. The event has a high qualifying standard time of 1:57.50,” she said.