Ferdinand Omanyala

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Ferdinand Omanyala
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Personal information
Born (1996-01-02) 2 January 1996 (age 28)
Kitale, Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya[1]
Education Friends School Kamusinga
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
Country Kenya
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 60 m, 100 m, 200 m
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  KEN
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 100 m
African Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Mauritius 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Mauritius 4×100 m relay

Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa (born 2 January 1996) is a Kenyan sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. In 2022, he won his first international championships, with victories in the 100 m at the Commonwealth Games, and African Championships in Athletics. Omanyala is the African record holder and the ninth-fastest man of all time in the event after clocking a time of 9.77 seconds on 18 September 2021 in Nairobi. He also holds Kenyan national record in the 60 m.

Early life

Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa was born in Hamisi as the third son of Dishon and Adelaide Omurwa, though the family settled in Tongaren soon afterwards.[2]

Career

In 2015, Omanyala began his athletics career in Kenya as a chemistry student the University of Nairobi.[2] He made this move after a friend noticed his speed while he was playing rugby. He made the switch from rugby to track and only a few weeks later he ran a time of 10.4 s in his first AK meet in Kakamega. The same year, he won the national Olympics trials over the 100 m distance in a time of 10.37 s but never met the qualifying standard for the Olympics which was 10.16 s at the time.

Following a doping offence in 2017 Omanyala received a 14-month suspension. He tested positive for the prohibited substance betamethasone, after undergoing treatment for his back injury which he got during training.[3][4]

Omanyala won the national title in the 100 metres in 2019.

On 30 March 2021, he set a national record of 10.01 seconds in the 100 m in winning a meeting at Yabatech Sport Complex in Lagos, Nigeria.[5] At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 100 metres semi-final in August that year, he set a new national record of 10.00 seconds.[6] Omanyala was 0.04 s behind eventual silver medalist Fred Kerley and 0.02 s behind eventual bronze medalist Andre De Grasse. The same month, he ran a new personal best of 9.86 seconds in Austria, becoming the first Kenyan to ever break the 10-second barrier.[7] In September, he ran a 9.77 seconds (+1.2 m/s) for a new African record at the Absa Kip Keino Classic held in Nairobi, Kenya coming in a close second place behind Trayvon Bromell, who ran a world leading 9.76 s.[8]

In June 2022, Omanyala became African 100 m champion before he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in July, after arriving at the event only a couple of hours before his first round heat due to visa problems. In August, he claimed Kenya's first gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Kenyan to win gold in the 100-metre race in 60 years.[9]

Personal life

Omanyala is married to Laventa Amutavi and they have a son.[2] His official sponsors are Odibets, a Kenyan sports betting company.[10]

Achievements

International competitions

Representing  Kenya
Year Competition Venue Position Event
2017 World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 7th 4 × 200 m relay 1:23.04 SB1
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 8th (sf) 100 m 10.00 NR
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 13th (sf) 60 m i 6.64
African Championships Saint Pierre, Mauritius 1st 100 m 9.93
30th (h) 200 m 21.16
1st 4 × 100 m relay 39.28 NR
World Championships Eugene, OR, United States 13th (sf) 100 m 10.14
Commonwealth Games Birmingham, United Kingdom 1st 100 m 10.02
– 4 × 100 m relay DNF

1Time from the heats; Omanyala was replaced in the final.

National titles

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ https://www.adak.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Reasoned-Decision-Ferdinand-Omanyala.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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