Omanyala eyes sub-10 seconds in Nationals final
Ferdinand Omanyala wins men's 100m semi-final race during Athletics Kenya (AK) National Championships at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on June 23, 2023.
What you need to know:
- As Omanyala positioned himself for his third national 100m title, a new women’s national 100m champion was set to be crowned after defending champion Maximilla Imali was disqualified after a false start in her semi-final heat
- Omanyala, the Commonwealth Games and Africa 100m champion, hit his pistons well from the blocks to win against the -0.5 wind speed, improving his first round victory of 10.08 on Thursday
- Omanyala of Police won to set up an explosive battle with Steve Onyango from Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), who won the third semi-final heat in 10.49 (-0.1) as Onyango’s teammate Meshack Babu won the second semi in 10.52
Africa 100 metres record holder Ferdinand Omanyala said a possible sub 10 seconds could go down in the final on Saturday after he cracked 10.06 seconds to win his semi-final at the National Athletics Championships on Friday.
As Omanyala positioned himself for his third national 100m title, a new women’s national 100m champion was set to be crowned after defending champion Maximilla Imali was disqualified after a false start in her semi-final heat.
Omanyala, the Commonwealth Games and Africa 100m champion, hit his pistons well from the blocks to win against the -0.5 wind speed, improving his first round victory of 10.08 on Thursday.
Omanyala of Police won to set up an explosive battle with Steve Onyango from Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), who won the third semi-final heat in 10.49 (-0.1) as Onyango’s teammate Meshack Babu won the second semi in 10.52.
“It was another beautiful race, I loved it and I am looking forward for tomorrow’s finals where I hope to lower the time to perhaps a sub 10 seconds,” said Omanyala. “The weather was chilly but one just has to run and hope for the best.”
Imali, the 2018 and 2022 national 100m champion, suffered a false start in the first 100m semi-final where Kenya Police compatriot, the 2019 national champion Monica Safania, won in 11.95.
However, it’s Prisons’ Esther Mbagari, who clocked the fastest semi-final time, winning the third heat in 11.75 as Uganda national champion Jacinta Nyamahunge claimed the second semi in 11.83.
