Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after competing in the men’s 100m heat of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala led from gun to tape as he strolled to victory with a new African and national 150m record time at the third edition of the Adidas Atlanta City Games held Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
The Commonwealth Games reigning champion clocked 14.70 seconds to wipe the floor with Bahamian sprinter Terrence Jones and homeboy Matthew Boling, who came home second and third with a time of 14.93 and 15.15 respectively.
“We knew we would have done a couple of 100m by now, so the 150m just sets us up for the longer season ahead. And it went great, so we’re just building it up slowly because it’s the second or third month of the season, so we’re just building it up,” said Omanyala in a post-race interview.
“My coach just told me to get out of the blocks so fast, and that’s what I did. The momentum just kept pushing me on, and of course, being a frontrunner, I just kept pushing to the line.”
Omanyala, who finished second at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix (10.00-season best) and Xiamen Diamond League (10.13) now has two African records under his belt—9.77 seconds in the 100m and the newly minted 14.70 in the 150m.
The triumph comes hot on the heels of another historic sprint for the 29-year-old who guided the 4x100m relay team—alongside Boniface Mweresa, Steve Onyango, and Meshack Baabu—to qualify for this year’s World Championships in Tokyo for the first time since 1983 last week.
The speedster said the relay achievement has fueled his ambition to cultivate a new generation of sprinting greats from Kenya.
“I loved it when we qualified last week because you could see from the photos and the videos, I was extremely happy. Because it’s my dream to make sure that we grow as many sprinters as possible in the country.
“Just them going to the World Championships, for me, it’s a plus because they’re going to have a different experience. Once they get out of the World Championships in September, all of those athletes that will be going in for 4x100m will have a completely different perspective in terms of athletics. For me, it’s just making sure that we get there in large numbers,” he added.
“So for them (relay team), it’s just keep pushing. And I told them it’s going to be a completely different experience going into the World Championships. Because that’s where everything is and that’s where everyone is.”
“We’ve been pushing so hard to get into the World Championships since I joined athletics. And the funny thing is, when I started sprinting, I never had any imagination that I’d be a star in 100m. So my hope and my faith was all in the relay. But I came first and then now the relay is following up. So I’m really excited and, you know, we’re just inspiring generations.”
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