Omanyala destroys 100m field in Botswana in world lead time
Ferdinand Omanyala wins the final of the men's 100 metres races during the second leg of Athletics Kenya Track and Field Weekend Meeting at Nyayo National Stadium on February 25, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Omanyala, who is also Commonwealth Games champion, took off the blocks swiftly, leading all the way to win and miss his own Africa and national record by 0.01 seconds
- Omanyala could have returned a better time or even broken his own African record if he didn't keep on focusing on his right where home athlete Letsile Tebogo was
- Omanyala edged out Tebogo, the world under-20 100m champion Tebogo, to second place in 9.91
Africa 100 metres champion Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala cracked a world lead when he won the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in 9.78 seconds at the National Stadium, Gaborone on Saturday.
Omanyala, who is also Commonwealth Games champion, took off the blocks swiftly, leading all the way to win and miss his own Africa and national record by 0.01 seconds.
Omanyala could have returned a better time or even broken his own African record if he didn't keep on focusing on his right where home athlete Letsile Tebogo was.
However, this was the fastest time this season. The previous world lead of 9.91 was held by Jones Terrence from Bahamas, when winning the Percy Beard Track meet on April 15 at Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
Omanyala went into Botswana with season's best 10.05 from his victory at Athletics South Africa Grand Prix 2 on April 12 at Bestmed Tuks Stadium, Pretoria.
Omanyala set a new Africa record when he finished second at the 2021 Kip Keino Classic in 9.77.
Omanyala edged out Tebogo, the world under-20 100m champion Tebogo, to second place in 9.91. Tebogo's performance saw him equal his personal best.
Both Omanyala and Tebogo, who threw friendly barbs at each other at the press conference on the eve of the race, hit the World Athletics Championships qualifying standards of 10.00 seconds.
The world event is scheduled for August 19 to 27 in Budapest, Hungary.
