Mary Moraa eased into the 800m semis in Tokyo. Photo: Imago

Mary Moraa kept alive her hopes of retaining her 800m world title when she made it to the semi-final alongside Lilian Odira but her best friend Sarah Moraa missed out.

Mary Moraa ensured she will be in the semi-final of the 800m to defend her title at the 2025 World Athletics Championships.

Moraa, who is the defending champion, has not been in great form this season but she has a chance to make amends after sealing her place in the semi-final.

The Kenyan finished second in Heat 2 after clocking 1:58.44 just behind Frenchwoman Anais Borgouin, who timed 1:58.43 for first place, while Gabriela Gajanova from Slovakia was third in 2:00.44.

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Moraa should have won the heat but opted to slow down just before crossing the line although she had already done enough for a place in the semis.

Her main rival Keely Hodgkinson of Britain also eased into the semi-final after winning Heat 1 in 1:59.79 ahead of Assia Zariki of Morocco (1:59.82) and Clara Liberman of France (2:00.17).

The semi-final will also have Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, the Olympics silver medalist, who won heat 4, while Sarah Moraa had a nightmare race when she failed to qualify in the most unfortunate fashion.

Sarah Moraa was among the leading pack heading into the final lap of Heat 5 but her decision to run in the inside lane proved costly as she tangled with other runners and almost fell, and although she continued with the race, the incident affected her.

She failed to summon enough strength to finish in the top three to crash out, denying Kenyan an extra option in the race.

Meanwhile, Lilian Odira sealed her place in the semis after winning heat 5 ahead of Cuban Daily Cooper Gaspar as Ethiopian Workenesh Mesele completed the podium.

Another Kenyan Vivian Kiprotich missed out on a place in the semis after finishing fifth in Heat 7 that had plenty of drama which saw Australian Jessica Hull tripped while two runners pulled out due to an injury.