by Stuart Weir
This is the second column on the Athletissiam meeting, and Stuart focused on the 800 meters.
Women’s 800
Mary Moraa won an intriguing women’s 800m race. Moraa is a class act – bronze medallist in the 2002 World Championship and winner of the 2022 Diamond League. She is also a difficult person to race. Remember how she won the Commonwealth Games final last year by running a really fast first lap, then letting everyone pass her before coming through the field to win. Her comments tonight were: “It was a very challenging race, and I felt completely empty at the end of it. The weather was particularly difficult for me. My mentor would have been extremely proud of my achievements tonight”.
Keely Hodgkinson is also a prodigiously talented athlete with an Olympic and World silver medal, aged 21. She told me afterward: “Not my best put-together race. Being behind was not the plan. Today was not my day. Mary was better. I’m disappointed because I think I’m better than that”.
Her time tonight was two and a half seconds slower than her 1:55.77 in Paris two weeks ago. She got boxed in and was unable to control the race as she had in Paris. All credit to Mary Moraa, and Keely will learn from her mistake.
The ever-consistent Natoya Goule was third in 1:58.90
