Odira brings the house down in storming to women’s 800m Absa Kip Keino Classic title
“Clocking a new personal best in my first 800m outdoor competition was huge and qualifying for Tokyo as well,”
NAIROBI, Kenya May 31, 2025- Lilian Odira brought the Ulinzi Sports Complex to its feet with a lung-busting finish to win the women’s 800 metres crown at the sixth Absa Kip Keino Classic on Saturday (May 31).
The 26-year-old African silver winner emerged from the outside in the final lunge for glory to take the gold medal home in 1:58.31, a huge new personal best that saw her make the Tokyo 2025 World Championships standard, much to the delight of the home supporters.
Her gritty finish saw over the final 50m saw her reel in Botswana’s Oratile Nowe and pre-race favourite, African champion Sarah— the cousin of world champion Mary Moraa for her biggest win on the elite World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series.
“I have really worked hard form the cross country build up. I was coming to gauge my body.
“Clocking a new personal best in my first 800m outdoor competition was huge and qualifying for Tokyo as well,” Odira said at the Mixed Zone, heart still pumping after taking a lap of honour to soak in the deafeaning cheers.
Behind her, Nowe clocked 1:58.47 for silver and Moraa rounded off the podium in 1:58.96— both personal bests and well inside the Tokyo 2025 qualifying time of 1:59.00.
“This is my first time qualifying for World Championships. I tried hard last year but it was not possible. I will go focus on my speed and endurance for me to be among the finalists at the World Championships,” the younger Moraa, 19, said.
Relatively unknown
Coming into the race with a previous best of 1:58.50, Odira knew she had to produce something special to outpace a competitive field.
Nowe ran bravely out of lane eight and had timed her race well before the Kenyan edged her with glory in sight.
Just outside the medals, St. Vincent and the Grenadines' Shafiqua Maloney, the Paris 2024 Olympics fourth finisher and a consistent sub-2:00 performer, finished fourth in 1:59.13.
She came into the race with a PB of 1:59.10 and fought hard to stay with the leaders, particularly in the final 100 metres.
The surprises didn’t end there. Kenya’s Judy Kemunto, also 19 and relatively unknown on the international stage, delivered a breakthrough performance.
She finished in 2:00.98 for a lifetime best, improving her previous mark of 2:02.10 for a strong fifth.
Further down the pack, 19-year-old Maureen Chepkirui lit up the crowd with one of the biggest personal improvements of the day.
She smashed her old PB of 2:13.50, finishing in 2:03.59 in eighth, showing that the future is bright for Kenya’s emerging women’ two-lap talent.
One of the youngest athletes in the race, 17-year-old Daisy Chepngetich Ruto, who had a personal best of 2:06.40, was unable to finish.
-By Robert Kibet | Freelance Journalist
-Photos: Organisers
