World 800m champion Mary Moraa will be out to settle scores when she renews her rivalry with the red-hot Nelly Chepchirchir in a 1,000m showdown at Friday’s Monaco Diamond League.
Their last meeting over the distance came at the 2024 Silesia Diamond League, where Chepchirchir proved unstoppable, storming to victory in 2:31.24. Britain's Jemma Reekie followed in 2:32.56, with Moraa settling for third in 2:33.43.
Moraa heads to Monaco with a point to prove, especially after a lacklustre performance at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene last weekend. The Olympic bronze medallist faded to ninth place in the 800m, clocking 2:00.51, behind last-placed American Athing Mu, the 2020 Olympic champion, who clocked 2:03.44.
Inform Ethiopian Tsige Duguma stopped the clock in 1:57.10 to claim the title ahead of South Africa's Prudence Sekgodiso (1:57.16) and Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi (1:57.89).
The Eugene result marked a significant dip for Moraa, who dazzled at Hayward Field in 2024 with a 1:56.71 second-place finish behind Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson (1:55.78).
As she steps up to the 1,000m, an event she has raced only three times before, the Kenyan speedster is desperate for a morale-boosting result. Her debut over the distance came in July 2021 in Belgium, where she clocked a commanding 2:34.71 to claim victory.
Two months later, in her second outing over 1,000m, the Olympic 800m bronze medallist faded to 10th place, clocking 2:39.47. However, standing in her way is the in-form Chepchirchir, who is eyeing her fifth straight victory of the season.
The rising star kicked off her 2025 campaign with a 4:23.99-mile win at the Adidas Adizero Road to Records meet before dominating the 1,500m in Doha (4:05.00), Rabat (3:58.04) and most recently in Paris (3:57.02).
Friday’s field in Monaco will be stacked with firepower, including Uganda’s Nakaayi, Britain’s Reekie, Australians Jessica Hull and Sarah Billings, and American prospect Addison Wiley.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, World U20 champion Edmund Serem will be aiming to dip under his 8:07.4 personal best, set earlier this year in Rabat.
“I will be featuring in the Monaco meeting. My target is to lower my personal best as I build up for the Tokyo World Championships,” Serem told the Star in an exclusive interview.
The 17-year-old has so far claimed back-to-back podium finishes in his Diamond League appearance, finishing second in Shanghai (8:08.68) and third in Rabat (8:07.47). Serem will share the track with Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot as they take on reigning Olympic and World champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco.
In the men’s 5,000m, World bronze medallist Jacob Krop will lead Kenya’s charge against a formidable Ethiopian squad anchored by Yomif Kejelcha, the 2019 World 10,000m silver medallist.
