‘Unbeatable’ Ferdinand Omanyala
At the Absa Kip Keino Classic at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani on Saturday, African 100-meter record holder Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya stunned the field by winning the men’s 100-meter race.
President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga were in the crowd, which cheered in celebration as Omanyala stormed to victory in 9.84 seconds to retain his title.
Omanyala edged out the Olympic and world 200m silver medallist Kenneth Bednarek from United States of America to second place in a season best of 9.98.
World 100m silver medallist Marvin Bracy-Williams failed to withstand the heat from Omanyala and Bednarek to settle third in a season best 10.03.
“It’s good to set the world lead, and this forms part of my build-up ahead of the World Championships, but first things first, Rabat is my next hunting ground,” said Omanyala.
On May 28 in Morocco, Omanyala will compete against Olympic 100-meter champion Marcel Jacobs of Italy and World 100-meter Champion Fred Kerley of the US.
‘Unbeatable’ Ferdinand Omanyala
Omanyala declared, “I know Rabat will be difficult, but as I said, no one will beat me in the 100m this season.”
“I will do my best since my ultimate target is the top podium place at the World Championships,” added Omanyala, who thanked Kenyans and especially President William Ruto for turning out in numbers to cheer him to victory.
The victory saw Omanyala finally claim the world lead time to officially hit the World Championships qualifying entry standard of 10.00 seconds.
However, Omanyala fell short of his promise to break his own Africa record time of 9.77 set in 2021.
The World Athletics Championships are scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
The victory of Commonwealth Games 100-meter champion Ferdinand Omurwa Omanyala at the 4th edition of the Kip Keino Classic, the World Athletics Continental Gold Tour, on Saturday at the Kasarani stadium was a show-stopper.
The defending champion in the championships at the same location successfully defended his title as the current African 100-meter record holder.
