Africa’s fastest man Omanyala to miss World Championships

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala says he sets his sights on at least reaching the final of the 100m in Oregon, targeting a time of 9:6.

If he had made the podium there, it would have been a historic first for an African runner.

Namibia’s Frankie Fredericks twice won Olympic silver in the 100m in the 1990s, but his one gold and three silvers in the World Championships were all over 200m.

The young athlete and his coach Duncan Ayiemba have been mapping out ways to make sprinting more popular in Kenya, the East African country where the long-distance runner is king.

Omanyala became the first Kenyan sprinter to reach an Olympic semi-final at the Tokyo Games last year.

He was able to represent Kenya in Tokyo after Athletics Kenya relaxed a decision to prohibit any banned athletes from taking part in international competitions.

Omanyala had been suspended for 14 months in 2017 by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya after testing positive for a banned substance.

“It was a hard 14 months but life has to move on,” Omanyala said in an interview.

The young athlete from western Kenya said ”he hoped to be a role model for other aspiring sprinters both at home and across Africa.

“I believe I opened the way for so many people coming behind me. One of the things that I wanted to do is to leave a legacy. I want to leave an industry of sprint in Kenya.”

AFP/PUNCH/Mercy Chukwudiebere