NAIROBI, Kenya, August 31 – Newly-crowned World Under 20 champion Sarah Moraa reveals she was afraid of being disqualified during the finals of the women’s 800m at the World Under 20 Championships in Lima, Peru on Friday.
Moraa admitted she was scared of suffering the same fate as triple Olympics 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon who was initially disqualified in the women’s 5000m at this summer’s Paris Games and stripped of her silver medal.
“I have been watching a lot of races, not just the women’s 800m. Looking at the Paris Olympics I saw what happened to Faith in the women’s 5000m and I was afraid of being disqualified like her. So I had to be tactical in the way I approach the race and not to get entangled in the middle,” Moraa said.
The youngster clocked 2:00.36 to clinch her second career title in just over two months.
In second place was Claudia Hollingsworth of Australia who clocked 2:00.87 as American Sophia Gorriaran timed 2:01.04 to bag bronze.
Moraa said she did not expect to win gold in the cutthroat final.
“This is my first ever world championships and I wasn’t expecting to win gold. By good luck I have won and I am so happy,” the African 800m champion said.
Her comeback from the disappointment of missing out on the Paris Olympics has been one for the books.
Moraa clocked 2:00.27 to win the continental crown at the African Championships in Douala albeit she failed to make the qualifying time for Paris.
Her focus is on next year’s World Championships in Tokyo where, hopefully, she will be competing alongside her older cousin, world champion Mary Moraa.
The youngster has vowed not to rest on her laurels but to work hard to make the plane to Tokyo.
“I will not go to sleep now that I have a world title. I want to keep working hard. When I failed to make it to Paris, I was so disappointed. I don’t want to repeat the same mistake for the World Championships,” she said.
