Mercy Oketch
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 30 July 2002 | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
| Event | Sprint | ||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 400m: 50.14 (Nairobi, 2025) NR | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mercy Oketch (born 30 July 2002) is a Kenyan sprinter. In 2025, she became the Kenyan national record holder in the 400 metres.[1]
Early life
[edit]Born in Kabobo village, Nyatike sub-county in Migori County, she was the third last in a family of seven siblings (three boys and four girls) with no one else in her family having a background in athletics. She attended Masara Primary School and then Radienya Primary School. She focused on football for a couple of years playing as a striker before switching back to athletics. She ran in the same school athletics relay team as Mary Moraa. She later transferred to transfer to Mogonga Girls School in Kisii. She has a younger sister who plays football with Bunyore Starlets.[2]
Career
[edit]She narrowly missed selection for the Kenya team after a photo-finish loss to Nelly Chepchirchir during the trials for the 2019 African U18 and U20 Championships in Athletics. However, that year she won the 400 metres at the national championships in Mombasa and was selected for the East African Secondary School Games (FEASSSA) in Arusha, Tanzania, where she won a silver in the 4x400m relay.[2]
By 2023, she was coached by Josephine Nyarunda and ran for Kenya at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the Mixed 4 × 400 metres relay in Budapest, running a 52.22 seconds split.[2]
She competed at the 2024 African Military Games in Abuja, Nigeria, where she won a silver medal in the 400 metres. Shortly afterwards she ran a personal best 51.80 seconds at the Nakuru AK meet, breaking the 52-second barrier for the first time.[2] She lowered her personal best for the 400 metres to 51.64 in Nairobi in April 2025.[3] She won a bronze medal with the Kenyan mixed 4 x 400 metres relay team at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China, also securing qualification to the upcoming World Championships.[4][5][6] She ran a new personal best and Kenyan national record of 50.14 seconds to win the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on 31 May 2025.[7]
Personal life
[edit]In 2023, she was recruited by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and she attended Recruits Training School in Eldoret as part of the Kenyan Air Force.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mercy Oketch". World Athletics. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Njoroge, Peter (13 May 2025). "Medal Heartbreak to Bronze Glory: Mercy Oketch's Stunning Rise in Sprinting". Athletics.co.ke. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "Sprints Build-up & Trials for World Athletics Relays Championships". World Athletics. 12 April 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics Relays". World Athletics. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ "Focus shifts to Tokyo meet after Kenya's relay teams book slots". Standard Media. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ Wanja, Charity (11 May 2025). "Kenya wins bronze, three teams qualify Tokyo". sjak.co.ke. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ "Nene smashes 44-second barrier in Nairobi". World Athletics. 31 May 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
