National 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala has been entertaining the idea of ‘what if he made to the Olympics finals on Sunday?

Not that he has a definite answer to the thought, he nonetheless says ‘you never know’.

On Sunday, the sprinter set a national record of 10:00 finishing third in his semi final race and was poised to feature in the final, but was heartbreakingly overlooked on technicality grounds.

He had finished third behind Canadian Andre de Grasse (9.91) and American Fred Kerley (9.97) but was, unfortunately, undone by the other semi-final race, which registered the fastest times.

He watched from the stands as Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs clinched gold in the final after clocking 9.80, him too a shock victor. Kerley and de Grasse timed 9.84 and 9.89 to claim silver and bronze respectively.

Omanyala believes the draw were not favourable for him having also been paired against the two heavyweights de Grasse and Kerley in the heats, where he also finished third.

“Entertain the thought that maybe a boy from a small village in Kenya was in line to make an historic podium in 100m at the olympics.

Man, I am excited knowing where I have come from, my journey is out there for everyone to read, learn and pick the good things. You can achieve anything with self belief,” he told People Sport yesterday.

The sprinter’s heroics on Sunday evening came a day after he had equalled his previous record of 10.01 in Heat 5 of the 100m race during which he came third.

“I ranked number nine overall in the semi-final so I missed out on the final by one spot. All in all, I have achieved what I came to do here in Tokyo.

I just want to continue with the way I have been training but now I want to compete regularly in the Diamond League races and the World Challenge. That’s my next goal,” Omanyala said.

The University of Nairobi student said he leaves Japan a proud and fulfilled man, knowing that will not be the only opportunity he gets.