World Athletics Championships 2023: Kenya's Mary Moraa wins sensational women's 800m gold beating Keely Hodgkinson and Athing Mu

Mary Moraa of Kenya danced with joy as she celebrated a memorable women's 800m gold at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest on Sunday 27 August.

The 23-year-old turned the podium from last year's Worlds in Oregon on its head, with her bronze medal replaced by a shining gold as she ran a personal best time of 1:56.03 to beat off the challenge of defending champion Athing Mu of the USA who came third in 1:56.61 behind Team GB's silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson (1:56.34 ).

As she passed the finish line, Moraa leapt into the air punching her fist to celebrate her second major international gold in a year after her victory at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Mu, who led from the beginning only to fade in the last 100m and Hodgkinson, who once again won silver after claiming the same medal at Tokyo 2020 and Oregon 22, made up the rest of the podium in Budapest.

The sheer joy of Moraa was evident for everyone in the stadium to see as she broke out into an impromptu dance on the track - a trademark of hers since her Commonwealth victory - with many Kenyan fans in the stands dancing along with her to celebrate. Even long after the race ended she lay on the floor draped in the Kenyan flag as if she didn't want this moment to end.

"I surprised myself too…I wasn’t expected to win the gold," a delighted Moraa said to media as she broke into dance, again.

"I am happy that we (Kenyans) are slowly coming back to reclaim our race. Maybe from next year you will see a sweep."

"Mu was the first to make a move, and when I saw moving forward, I thought maybe she wants a fast finish, so I decided to sit back and then I realised Keely was closing in and I could be boxed inside…I think I ran my whole race in lane two….a personal best? Wow!I was just so focused on getting a medal.

"It was a very hard race, and midway through the race I was there wondering what medal will I get. Mu was there, Keely, Jemma Reekie is also in good shape and Nakayayi (Halimah) was there and there are only three medals…I was like what I am getting from here?

But few would begrudge any of this joy to Moraa who has risen from a difficult childhood where she grew up as an orphan in a remote area of Kenya to her position now as a world champion.

This is an athlete who has truly shaken up the world of 800m over the past year, following the meteoric rise of the two 21-year-olds Mu and Hodgkinson threatened to turn the event into a two-person race.

And with one year to go until Paris 2024, this victory will confirm the brilliance of a new star of the two-lap distance who has taken her considerable talent to the heights of the World stage.

"No, not really, I'll be honest" a downbeat Hodgkinson replied when asked after the race whether silver - her third after last year's Worlds and Tokyo 2020 - meant something to her. "I came him for the win.... but like I say, consistency. I have three silvers now and I'm going to try and get that gold one year."

Olympic champion Mu chose to focus on her maturity as an 800m runner and settling with her new coach Bobby Kersee.

"I'm doing different things that I've done my whole entire career and, I'm super young, I've done a lot of great things starting at 19 and I'm three years or two years later, 21," she offered.

"I'm definitely evolving as an athlete because every year you're gonna learn something new here, you're gonna go through something different."

• Orphaned as a toddler - Mary Moraa on how hardships inspire greatness
• World Athletics Championships 2023: All track and field and road race results and medals table
• Track and field World Athletics Championships 2023: Day-by-day highlights guide
• World Athletics Championships 2023 preview: Full schedule and how to watch