By Sandra Blessings
The new 800M world record breaker, Lilian Odira, anchored her athletic career and success to a popular proverb, “patience pays” — and indeed, that patience helped her make history by breaking the 42-year-old 800M record.
Speaking after her victory, Odira said it was only possible through God and described it as the most difficult day, but one in which God prevailed.
“I want to give glory to God. He has stood by me from the onset of the championship and today when I have managed to be the world champion. There were so many big names in the race, and I am happy I was able to defeat them. I want to thank God, my family, and the fans,” she said.
She said patience has been the hallmark of her athletic career, beginning in primary and secondary school, where she competed in athletics before moving to the senior levels.
“I have been patient enough because I knew I had to be patient for some years. When I made it to the Olympic team, that is when I realized that everything is possible in this career so long as you are disciplined, consistent, and hardworking,” she said.
Odira revealed that to win the 800M, she opted to do cross-country after her Olympic experience, which required a new strategy in order to succeed.
“We basically planned for the world championship because we knew it was not going to be an easy task. If you look at today’s finals, it had all the big names — the world champion, the Olympic champion. It was not going to be an easy task, but I had self-belief and I decided to run my own race. Now that I am the world champion, it is not an easy task. You have to go hard again, and maintaining the title is not easy. I am going to sit down with my coach to plan on what’s next,” she said.
Odira employed the same technical strategy that she used in the semis to beat her opponents. During the race, she remained in the middle, and with 200M to the finish line, she burst from the outside to win.
Odira became the first athlete from Migori County to win a gold medal at the World Athletic Championship.
President William Ruto congratulated her for winning gold and making Kenya proud.
