Mary Moraa set for 600m debut in Germany

Five Olympic champions, 13 medal winners from Paris and numerous other fan favourites will compete in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday, 1 September in Germany’s biggest athletics event, the ISTAF Berlin 2024. 

Spectators will experience competitions with numerous Paris Olympic Games athletes including local stars led by decathlon silver medalist Leo Neugebauer and former world champion Niklas Kaul in the new ISTAF triathlon. 

Ready for that Moraa double threat?

World 800m champion and Olympic bronze medalist Mary Moraa is the favourite to win the rarely run 600m as she takes on a field that has one other Kenyan, Vivian Chebet (1:58.26 in 800m). 

Moraa is the quickest, in the two-lap race, holding a 1:56.03 personal best and while that might give her an advantage, Sunday's race is 200m shorter and the Olympic bronze medalist's debut in the distance. 

She goes up against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' Shafiqua Maloney, a 1:57.59 runner in the 800m and Australia’s Catriona Bisset (1:57.78). Bahraini's Nelly Jepkosgei and home girls Christina Hering and Alica Schmidt are in the mix. 

Moraa, the 800m Diamond League 2022 champion has already been announced for the final in Brussels where she goes up against Olympic silver medalist Tsige Duguma among others.

While Moraa has already secured qualification to the final thanks to her victory in Lausanne last week, Duguma needs a big performance if she is to break into the qualifying spots in Zurich. 

Meanwhile, Olympic champion Yemisi Ogunleye in the shot put, Olympic champion Grant Holloway (USA) over the 110-metre hurdles, silver medalist Sam Kendricks (USA) in the pole vault, Gina Lückenkemper, Lisa Mayer and Rebekka Haase, who together won Olympic bronze with the 4x100m relay, sprinting on the blue track are in action.

In the men’s 100m, two Canadian Olympic relay champions, Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake, will meet South Africa’s sprint star Akani Simbine.

Over the 400m, the fast field will be led by the Dutchman Isaya Klein Ikkink, who celebrated Olympic victory with the mixed relay team in Paris.

Britain’s Alex Haydock-Wilson won bronze in the same race and with the men’s 4x400m relay team. Lisanne de Witte, Olympic silver medalist and European champion with the Dutch 4x400m relay team is good for a top time in the 400m race.