Florence on Friday beckons for big talking Omanyala and man of the moment Kerley
USA’s Fred Kerley (left) and Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala compete in the men’s 100m during the IAAF Diamond League competition at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on May 28, 2023.
What you need to know:
- I say keep your confidence Omanyala. Keep your cockiness. And your level of performance too. Kenyans are loving it.
- If you can beat Kerley, Jacobs and the rest of the best, on Friday in Italy…in August in Hungary, or push them all the way to the finishing line, you will have achieved what no Kenyan sprinter has ever done.
Now Ferdinand Omanyala has got to hit back. Immediately. He, after all, started it all.
Here is how it began. Africa’s fastest man Omanyala won the ASA Grand Prix men’s 100 metres race in Germiston Stadium, Johannesburg on April 19 in a time of 10.05 seconds.
Omanyala, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion over the distance, had promised a blistering time and expressed disappointment running outside 10 seconds.
By the way, 10.05sec is a pretty fast time, faster than all the 41 modern Olympic Games men’s 100m final winning times save for 12 editions.
The former Kenyan rugby player was gracious enough -- or is it cocky? – to apologise to his growing legion of fans for the “slow” time in Johannesburg, blaming it on the weather.
Nine days later he served a hot riposte, blasting to a wind-assisted 9.78sec at the Continental Tour Gold Meet in Gaborone to emphatically win the men’s 100m race.
Omanyala then scorched the familiar, to him at least, blue running track at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani with a winning time, that was also the world lead of 9.84sec to successfully defend his crown in the Continental Tour Gold Kip Keino Classic in front of his adoring fans on May 13.
“Thank you so much for the love you showed me yesterday, it was overwhelming. It can only get better than this,” tweeted the 5 feet 9 inches sprinter, as he lapped it up with a promise of more.
His management confirmed that, the man with a personal best of 9.77sec would participate in three Diamond League meetings – Rabat (May 28), Florence (June 2) and Paris (June 9) -- in the run-up to the 2023 World Athletics Championships later this year in Budapest.
This was the first time in the history of the Diamond League that a Kenyan sprinter was making the list.
And when the Rabat Diamond League men’s 100m line-up was announced, discerning athletics followers went “oooooh.”
That field was stacked and included: American Fred Kerley -- the world 100m champion, American Trayvon Bromell -- the world 100m bronze medallist, Canadian Andre de Grasse -- the reigning Olympics 200m champion, Motswana Letsile Tebogo -- the World Under-20 champion, South African Akani Simbine -- the former African 100m record holder, and Jamaican Yohan Blake -- the second fastest human being in history.
Omanyala stirred the hearts of his admirers days to the big day when he publicly declared:
“I’m not losing any 100m race this year”.
Big talk indeed that was definitely noted by all the elite sprinters scattered around the world preparing for their championship tilt.
The rubber met the road at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium last Sunday as Kerley, in superlative fashion, brushed aside the talented field to win in 9.94sec with Simbine finishing second in 9.99sec as Omanyala trailed in third place in 10.05sec.
Perhaps replying to Omanyala’s widely read boast, Kerley tweeted after the race: “And I took that personally.”
In the post-match interview Kerley had said: “There’s no one like me. I am different. Simple.”
Meanwhile, a bruised Omanyala, who beat Kerley in last year’s Kip Keino Classic, later said on Twitter: “Confidence looks like arrogance to people who don’t believe in themselves. We shall rise again.”
Florence on Friday beckons and the 100m field has another alluring field.
The line-up includes world lead holder Omanyala, Kerley, reigning Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs from Italy, and Simbine as they look to throw psychological blows at one another ahead of the ultimate showdown in Budapest.
Only a few years into his professional career, Omanyala is easily Kenya’s greatest sprinter of all time. His feats have increased the profile of the sprints amongst Kenyans. It is no secret that Omanyala’s races are the most followed by Kenyans vis a vis other races. Who does not want to witness history being written first hand?
Omanyala, 27, is surely destined to add a new chapter on Kenya’s history at the World Athletics Championships.
None other than the great 200m and 400m runner, American Michael Johnson, acknowledged the potential of Omanyala and his fate of, probably becoming the first male athlete representing Africa to win a medal at a World Athletics Championships 100m race. Even gold, I dare add.
“@Ferdiomanyala has the best chance this year. He must continue to compete well against the best consistently over the next few months to produce a medal performance in Budapest,” Johnson, who won four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships gold medals, tweeted on May 1.
I say keep your confidence Omanyala. Keep your cockiness. And your level of performance too. Kenyans are loving it.
If you can beat Kerley, Jacobs and the rest of the best, on Friday in Italy…in August in Hungary, or push them all the way to the finishing line, you will have achieved what no Kenyan sprinter has ever done.
I wish you all the speed.
