Mary Moraa Seeks Redemption in 1,000m Showdown with Chepchirchir at Monaco Diamond League

Monaco, The Gulf Observer: World 800m champion Mary Moraa will be looking to bounce back from recent setbacks when she faces off against the red-hot Nelly Chepchirchir in a highly anticipated 1,000m clash at Friday’s Monaco Diamond League meeting.

Their rivalry reignites following their last encounter at the 2024 Silesia Diamond League, where Chepchirchir clocked a dominant 2:31.24 to claim victory, ahead of Britain’s Jemma Reekie and Moraa, who settled for third in 2:33.43.

Now with a point to prove, Moraa heads into the Monaco showdown following a disappointing performance at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, where she faded to ninth in the 800m with a time of 2:00.51. Even Olympic champion Athing Mu trailed behind in last place. The race was won by Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma in 1:57.10, narrowly edging South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso and Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi.

For Moraa, who dazzled at Hayward Field last year with a 1:56.71 finish behind Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, the Monaco race offers a vital opportunity to regain momentum. Although relatively untested in the 1,000m—having raced the distance only three times—her debut in 2021 was promising, clocking 2:34.71 for the win in Belgium. However, inconsistency followed with a 10th-place finish two months later.

Standing firmly in her path is the in-form Chepchirchir, who is unbeaten in her last four races. The 2025 season has seen her clinch titles in the Adidas Adizero mile (4:23.99) and the 1,500m events in Doha, Rabat, and Paris, where she clocked an impressive 3:57.02.

The Monaco field promises high drama, with a stellar lineup including Halimah Nakaayi, Jemma Reekie, Australians Jessica Hull and Sarah Billings, and rising American star Addison Wiley.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side, World U20 steeplechase champion Edmund Serem is targeting a new personal best in the 3,000m steeplechase. The 17-year-old, who has already posted podium finishes in Shanghai (2nd) and Rabat (3rd), eyes a sub-8:07 performance as he builds up for the Tokyo World Championships.

“I will be featuring in the Monaco meeting. My target is to lower my personal best as I build up for the World Championships,” Serem told The Star.

He will face stiff competition from Olympic bronze medallist Abraham Kibiwot and Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, the reigning Olympic and World champion.

In the men’s 5,000m, Kenya’s Jacob Krop, a World bronze medallist, will lead the charge against a formidable Ethiopian lineup led by Yomif Kejelcha, the 2019 World 10,000m silver medallist.

With rivalries intensifying and personal bests on the line, Friday’s Monaco Diamond League promises to deliver world-class middle- and long-distance action.