Ferdinand Omanyala after finishing fourth at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais indoor 60 metres dash in Lievin, France, in 2022. Kenya could use the Miramas Meeting Metropole in France as trials for the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
At this time of the season, Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala would typically be gearing up for the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Europe.
However, for the first time in three years, the 29-year-old sprinter will sit out the indoor season, which runs from late January to March.
The Commonwealth Games 100m champion has decided to conserve his energy for the outdoor season, with the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan from September 13–21 as his ultimate goal.
Omanyala’s manager, Marcel Viljoen, confirmed that the 100m Africa record holder, who debuted in the indoor circuit in 2022, will instead compete in a few races in South Africa to fine-tune his form.
“We are not going for the indoor races this time around,” said Viljoen, who is based in South Africa.
Even though Omanyala resumed training in November under his coach Geoffrey Kimani, he says he is still enjoying his off-season.
“What we said after the season ended last year is to give ourselves some time with no pressure… we are not going for the indoor and we shall focus more on outdoor this time around,” said Omanyala, who holds the 100m Kenyan and African record of 9.77 seconds, and the 60m indoor national record of 6.51 seconds.
Omanyala revealed that he has no concrete race plans yet, as he hasn’t secured commitments from major race organisers. However, he remains focused on his training, often sharing sessions on his social media platforms.
“We have no tangible plans yet since we haven’t had any contacts with most race organisers, but we are training well, sessions that are even well captured on my social media platforms,” he said.
Omanyala is expected to kick off his 2025 season in mid-March in South Africa. While the World Championships remain a distant target, he is taking a step-by-step approach to the season.
“The Tokyo worlds are a bit far, and I shall focus on a day at a time without any pressure for the next competition,” he noted. Reflecting on the past two seasons, he admitted that missing out on medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2023 World Championships in Budapest was a humbling experience.
Omanyala, who entered Budapest as a title favourite, finished seventh in a final won by American Noah Lyles.
Before that, he had made history as the first Kenyan to win a 100m race at the Diamond League, securing victory in Monaco.
At the Paris Olympic Games, Omanyala failed to make the final, finishing eighth in his semi-final heat.
Despite those setbacks, he clocked a world-leading 9.79 seconds at the Kenyan Olympic trials on June 15, 2024—a time that ranked second globally last season, behind Jamaican Kishane Thompson’s 9.77 seconds from the Jamaican Olympic trials.
“Competition is something that makes you not be comfortable because at some point I thought I am sitting at the top of the world but failed to reach the final at the Paris Olympics,” said Omanyala, adding that he doesn’t lose but either wins or learns.
“I can’t go back and change anything about what has happened, but I can only pick lessons and work on things that will make me better next time.”
“2024 was yet another season of learning… we learn every day, in our jobs, schools, and generally in life. We shall never stop learning,” said Omanyala, who is currently in the second week of his six-week off-season break.
With renewed focus and a fresh approach, Omanyala aims to bounce back stronger, making Tokyo 2025 his redemption stage.
