Omanyala through to 60-metre semis at World Indoor Championships

Ferdinand Omanyala made his mark at the World Indoor Championships after cruising through to the semis setting a time of 6.62 seconds. 

Omanyala’s impressive run saw him go past Mario Burke of Barbados and Jamaican youngster Nigel Ellis who both timed 6.64 seconds. 

Omanyala topped his heat with a tight run alongside teenage sensation Israel Olatunde who had him neck and neck in a sizzling race. 

For the Kenyan record holder, his time sees him 6th overall with American Christian Coleman topping the charts at time of 6.51. Ivorian Arthur Cisse was the top African qualifier with a time of 6.55.

The margins at Belgrade are quite tight and Omanyala must definitely take his prowess a notch higher to get into 0.50 mark and certainly create terror amongst the top dogs of the event. The semi-finals of the men’s 60-metre dash will be held at 8:40 pm Kenyan time with the final slated for 11:20 pm.

“It’s another opportunity to show that Kenyans can sprint,” he said after the victory.

“I believe nothing is impossible. The world record is not an exception. It just needs the perfect race. I have very good acceleration and top-end speed, and now I am improving on my start. Cutting that time won’t be hard,” Omanyala told BBC Sport Africa earlier this week.