Ferdinand Omanyala’s coach, Geoffrey Kimani, has an uphill task to restore the sprint mojo of Kenya’s fastest man in 100 metres and help him break the sub-10.00-second barrier again, as rivals continue to emerge, an Athletics Kenya (AK) official has said.

In an exclusive interview with People Sports on June 3, 2025, AK National Under-18 and Under-20 team manager Joseph Ilovi said Omanyala’s performance in the 100m has been dismal this season.

“This year, Omanyala has not run under 10.00 seconds in any of the 100m races he has competed in. His coach has a mountain to climb to restore the athlete’s once-competitive sprinting ability,” Ilovi said.

“The coach needs to sit down with Omanyala to identify where the problem lies, following the athlete’s latest stunning defeat in the 100m to Australian Lachlan Kennedy, who clocked 9.98 seconds during the Absa Kip Keino Classic held at the Ulinzi Sports Complex on May 31,” he added.

The AK official noted that Southern African sprinters, including Akani Simbine from South Africa, have been consistently clocking sub-10.00-second times.

Simbine’s teammate, Bayanda Walaza, who finished second behind Kennedy at the Kip Keino Classic with a time of 10.03 seconds, has a Season Best (SB) of 9.94 seconds.

Omanyala finished third, clocking 10.07 seconds, with his SB standing at exactly 10.00 seconds.

Another South African sprinter, Shaun Maswanganyi, who has a Personal Best (PB) of 9.91 seconds, finished fourth behind Omanyala at the sixth edition of the Absa Kip Keino Classic, posting 10.24 seconds.

Ilovi said the sub-10.00-second times being posted by Southern African sprinters should be a cause for concern for Omanyala’s coach.

“Omanyala’s coach needs to sit down with him and identify what went wrong. Is it a problem with his start? It was evident during the Kip Keino Classic,” Ilovi observed.

He emphasised that Omanyala seemed to struggle with his start from the blocks, an issue that could have contributed to him being outpaced by Kennedy and Walaza.

Ilovi also linked Omanyala’s dip in form to a possible coaching disruption after he reportedly parted ways with his previous coach, Duncan Ayiemba, in 2024.

Despite the challenges, Ilovi expressed optimism, predicting that once the sprinter’s issues are addressed, Omanyala could regain his top form as Africa’s fastest man by the end of June 2025.

“In the month of June, Omanyala’s coach should use global athletics events such as the Diamond League to assess whether the problem has been fixed. Once these interventions are in place, Omanyala will be ready to compete effectively and showcase his sprinting ability during the upcoming World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, Japan, in September this year,” Ilovi said.