World 800m champion Mary Moraa is seeking redemption as she renews her rivalry with Olympic silver medallist Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia at Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
The women’s two-lap showdown, slated for Hayward Field, was billed as one of the marquee attractions of the meet, with all three Paris 2024 medallists initially set to clash. However, that heavyweight reunion will miss one key figure in Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, who pulled out citing a hamstring strain.
At the Paris Olympics, the Briton stormed to Olympic gold in 1:56.72, ahead of Ethiopia’s Duguma (1:57.12) and Moraa (1:57.42), who settled for bronze. The 25-year-old star now gets an immediate shot at revenge against Duguma, who has been in flying form this season. Moraa’s 2025 campaign has been a mixed bag of results over the two-lap race.
She opened her season at the Grand Slam Track opener in Kingston, Jamaica, where she placed last in 2:00.97. The race was won by American Nikki Hiltz (1:58.23) with Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji (1:58.29) and Australia's Jessica Hull (1:58.58) completing the podium.
She, however, bounced back strongly in her next outing, taking top honours at the Miami Slam in 1:59.51, edging out Hiltz (1:59.75) and Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu (1:59.84) in a tightly contested finish.
Her Diamond League opener in Stockholm on June 15 saw her fall just short of victory, clocking 1:57.83 behind Britain’s Georgia Bell (1:57.66), with South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso third in 1:58.00.
Her most recent competition was at the Athletics Kenya National Championships on June 26-27, where she claimed victory in her 800m semifinal heat in 2:10.96, opting out of the finals.
She further anchored the National Police Service (NPS) team to victory in the women's 4x400m relay, finishing in 3:27.22 ahead of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) team, who clocked 3:28.65 and the Kenya Prisons team (3:37.96).
Moraa had earlier noted that the National Championships would be crucial in her build-up ahead of Tokyo. "The Nationals are important to build up for the trials and just sharpen the form," she said.
Meanwhile, Duguma arrives in Eugene riding a wave of confidence after back-to-back Diamond League victories.
She clocked 1:56.64 to win in Shanghai on May 3, ahead of Australia's Sarah Billings (1:57.83) and Uganda's Halimah Nakaayi (1:58.39).
The Ethiopian then backed it up in Rabat with a commanding 1:57.42 win, fending off Sekgodiso (1:57.52) and American Addison Wiley (1:57.55) in her wake.
Adding fireworks to the Pre Classic showdown is 2020 Olympic champion Athing Mu.
Though yet to feature in an 800m race this season, Mu has raced over 1,500m twice, winning in 4:21.18 on May 11 and finishing second in 4:10.70 on May 24.
The deep field includes 2024 World Indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie, 2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi, Sekgodiso, and 2020 Olympic bronze medallist Raevyn Rogers.
France’s Anais Bourgoin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' Shafiqua Maloney, Ethiopia’s Worknesh Mesele and American McKenna Keegan round out a world-class lineup.
