NAIROBI, Kenya, September 8, 2025 – African silver medalist Lilian Odira says she is not just going to the World Championships in Tokyo to make the numbers but to leave a mark.
Odira has vowed to fight fearlessly to end up in the final of the women’s 800m at the global showpiece.
“This is going to be my debut at the World Championships and I am hoping to do my best. I am going there to fight and the minimum target for me is to make the final and then from there, we will see what happens,” the 26-year-old.
Odira will be among four athletes carrying Kenya’s hope at the biennial event as far as the women’s 800m is concerned.
Others include defending champion Mary Moraa, World Under 20 champion Sarah Moraa as well as Vivian Chebet.
Of the quartet, the Kenya Prisons runner has been enjoying a somewhat successful season heading into Tokyo.
She successfully defended her national title at the National Championships in July at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, clocking 2:02.08 to cross the finish line first.
Odira then emphatically secured her place on the plane to Tokyo with victory at the national trials at the same venue, stopping the timer at 2:13.85 for the win.
By then, she had already attained the qualifying mark for the one-lap race after timing 1:58.31 to win the women’s 800m at the Kip Keino Classic World Continental Tour Gold.
The World Championships will be her second international competition in Team Kenya colours this year, after featuring at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China where she exited at the semis.
Nonetheless, she will be ready to showcase her art and craft in Tokyo, if the results of her last international race are anything to go by.
Odira clocked 1:56.52 at last month’s Silesia Diamond League in Poland, to finish second in the women’s 800m.
That result has not gone to her head rather it has got to her heart, encouraging her not to be overawed by the opposition in Tokyo.
“Pressure is always there in any race…be it a small championships or a bigger one. As for me, I am not scared of anybody…I am going there to compete as Lilian. I am going to compete as Lilian,” she said.
Training for Tokyo
She has been hard at work in training, smoothening the rough edges to her game so as to come good on the material day of the competition.
“Right now, I am just working on speed and improving a bit on endurance because I worked on endurance at the beginning of the season. So far, I am just working on speed and we’ll see what will come out in Tokyo,” Odira said.
A core building block to her plan for success is her family who she says have supported her in every way in her career.
“They have been so supportive…starting from my parents…my kids. They give me a lot of motivation and strength to go out there and fight hard on the track,” she explained.
Of course, considering the end goal is put Kenya on the map, Odira revealed she has been working closely with her teammates to develop a strategy that ensures all of them are in the final.
“We have been working as a team. There are two who are training in Eldoret whereas Moraa (Mary) and I have been training in Nairobi. We are going there to fight and not let Kenyans down…as a team and as individuals. We are hoping for the best,” she said.
Odira also competed at last year’s Paris Olympics where she finished fourth in the semi-finals after clocking 1:58.53.
