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Tokyo 2020 men’s 100m Olympic finalist Ferdinand Omanyala has sent a clear warning to his competitors with his recent performance in Nairobi.

Omanyala secured his place in the Paris 2024 Olympics by posting a world-leading time of 9.79 seconds during qualifiers held at Nyayo Stadium over the weekend.

Omanyala dominance

Omanyala demonstrated his dominance by being the fastest out of the blocks and maintaining his lead to the finish line.

This performance highlights him as one of the top sprinters to watch at the Stade de France this summer.

After his victory, Omanyala expressed his satisfaction with his execution.

“I am happy that the execution came out well. I got it on Friday, so Saturday was just perfecting it and pushing it to the end.”

He also issued a warning to his competitors: “This should be a warning to so many sprinters right now because when I peak, I peak so well. I am happy that it is coming at this time, less than a month and a half to the Olympics, that’s our target,” Omanyala told the Olympics media.

Omanyala’s rise has been marked by significant achievements. In 2022, he won his first international championships with victories in the 100m at both the Commonwealth Games and the African Championships in Athletics.

He is the African record holder and the ninth-fastest man of all time in the event, having clocked 9.77 seconds in Nairobi on September 18, 2021. He also holds the Kenyan national record in the 60m.

On March 30, 2021, Omanyala set a national record of 10.01 seconds in the 100m at a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he set a new national record of 10.00 seconds in the semi-finals, finishing just 0.04 seconds behind eventual silver medalist Fred Kerley and 0.02 seconds behind bronze medalist Andre De Grasse.

Later that month, he ran a personal best of 9.86 seconds in Austria, becoming the first Kenyan to break the 10-second barrier.

In September, he set a new African record with a time of 9.77 seconds at the Absa Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, coming in a close second behind Trayvon Bromell.

Omanyala challenges

In June 2022, Omanyala became the African 100m champion but faced challenges at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals due to visa issues that caused him to arrive just hours before his heat.

However, he bounced back in August to win Kenya’s first gold medal in the 100m at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Kenyan to do so in 60 years.