Catch me if you can! Omanyala throwns down gauntlet with 9.85sec
Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates his victory during the men's 100m final at the national trials for the World Athletics Championships at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on July 8, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Omanyala clocked 9.85 seconds to triumph, missing his season's best by 0.1 seconds.
- Omanyala’s 9.84 victory at the Kip Keino Classic on May 13 places him as the second fastest man this year after Briton Hughes Zharnel's 9.83 on June 24.
Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala brought down the roof at the Nyayo National Stadium with the third fastest time in the world this year in men's 100 metres at the Kenyan trials for the World Championships on Saturday.
Omanyala clocked 9.85 seconds to triumph, missing his season's best by 0.1 seconds.
Omanyala’s 9.84 victory at the Kip Keino Classic on May 13 places him as the second fastest man this year after Briton Hughes Zharnel's 9.83 on June 24.
"I already qualified for Budapest long time ago, but it feels nice to have run 9.85 here. It was a surprise but the focus is on Budapest, and I feel better prepared than I was for Oregon 2022," said Omanyala.
Omanyala downplayed the talk that he might suffer fatigue saying it's a wrong perception.
"I have been looking for chances to compete, and now I have them, which is good. I am prepared to run two races a month," added Omanyala.
Omanyala said he already dining with the big boys of 100m in the world.
"I am also a big boy now. I see people running good times, and others are dropping out of the running for Budapest. My opponents should know what awaits them in Budapest," said Omanyala.
Meanwhile, National 100m and 200m champion Esther Mbagari won the women's 100m in a massive personal best of 11.47, beating her previous best of 11.68.
Mbagari edged out Ugandan champion Jacent Nyamahunge to second place in 11.54 as former national record holder and champion Eunice Kadogo finished third in 11.73.
However, Mbagari still fell short of making it to the World Championships after missing the qualifying standards of 11.08.
