Africa’s fastest man did not disappoint in what was the final race of the World Athletics Continental Tour.
Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala lived up to his promise of lighting up the Kip Keino Classic as he clocked a world lead time of 9.84 to win the men’s 100m on Saturday.
In a race that was billed as the highlight of the event, Omanyala did not disappoint as he timed 9.84 to win ahead of Americans Kenneth Bednarek (9.98) and Marvin Bracy-Williams (10.03) at Kasarani Stadium.
09:30 - 13.05.2023
LIVE BLOG Fourth edition of Kip Keino Classic: Omanyala lights up Kasarani to claim victory in a world lead, Wanyonyi lays down the marker as Sha'Carri Richardson shows her class
Welcome to our live coverage of the fourth edition of the World Athletics Continental Tour, the Kip Keino Classic, at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.
The race had its fair share of drama as it witnessed two false starts with the noise in the stadium blamed for the incidents. The second one, however, proved costly for Kenya as it saw Steve Odhiambo disqualified, leaving Omanyala as the sole runner from the country in the race.
While he did not manage to break his African record of 9.77 as promised, the 26-year-old will be encouraged to have run his official sub-10 of the season as his time was certified as a world lead.
Omanyala shrugged off competition from Bednarek and Bracy-Williams to claim victory with some distance to announce his intentions of going for a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in Hungary.
He had run a sub-10 at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 29, clocking 9.87, but it was not certified as a world lead since it was wind-assisted.
He followed it up with the African 150m record at the Atlanta City Games where he run 14.98 to finish third behind winner Noah Lyles with Erriyon Knighton in second place.
Omanyala beat the 14.99 African record set by Namibian legend Frankie Fredricks in 1993, his time being also a national record and the 13 best of all time.
08:15 - 13.05.2023
ATHLETICS Confirmed, arch-rivals Fred Kerley and Marcel Jacobs to lock horns in two Diamond League Meetings
On social media and in interviews in recent weeks, Kerley and Jacobs have both been talking up their chances in a sprint showdown.
Coming to Kasarani, he was hot favourite to triumph once more, and he lived up to the billing in what was the last event of the day at the fourth leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour.