Mary Moraa confirmed for ORLEN Copernicus Cup
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 22.12.22. | 19:40
The Kenyan and Hodgkinson met at the Commonwealth Games in August where Moraa triumphed with the Briton finishing second
Commonwealth Games champion over the 800m distance Mary Moraa will clash with Olympic Games Silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson and 2018 World U20 Championships winner Diribe Welteji over the 800m distance at the third Gold level meeting in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series on February 8 after being the first athletes to be confirmed for the ORLEN Copernicus Cup in Torun, Poland.
The 22-year-old will be making her debut in indoor racing, which will be the trio's first indoor three-way battle following their exciting head-to-heads during this year’s outdoor season.
The Kenyan's outdoor Personal Best (PB) stands at 1:56.71, achieved in Oregon while the Briton Hodgkinson ran her indoor PB, a British record of 1:57.20, in Birmingham in February, and her outdoor best is 1:55.88.
After securing Olympic 800m silver in Tokyo last year, Britain’s Hodgkinson claimed a medal of the same colour at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. Kenya’s Moraa got bronze and Ethiopia’s Welteji finished fourth in a race won by USA’s Athing Mu.
Hodgkinson and Moraa then went head-to-head again at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Moraa taking the title and Hodgkinson securing another silver. More success was to follow for Moraa as she won the Diamond Trophy in Zurich, the 2021 champion Hodgkinson this time finishing fifth.
A total of seven meetings feature in the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series, which starts in Karlsruhe, Germany, on 27 January before stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid and Birmingham.
Magnificent Mary-Mary-Mary Moraa!!! 🇰🇪👏🏿🇰🇪👏🏿🇰🇪 pic.twitter.com/dumSEIQ9cQ
— Prof. Judi Wakhungu EGH (@JudiWakhungu) August 7, 2022
The women’s 800m is among the scoring disciplines on the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold for 2023. Each athlete’s best three results will count towards their overall point score. The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a USD$10,000 bonus. They will also be offered a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24, subject to selection by the athlete's national federation.
Additional reporting by World Athletics
