Africa’s sprint king Ferdinand Omanyala is fired up for a blistering performance at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix today as he lines up in the 100m.
The Kenyan sprint ace
will square off against South African speedster Akani Simbine, fresh
from bagging 60m bronze at the World Indoor Championships, in what
promises to be a high-octane duel in Gaborone.
Omanyala, 29, says he’s primed to deliver a statement performance in what marks his first major test of the season.
"I
am really excited because this is my first big meet. I have done other
meets before, but this will be my first major meet of the season,"
Omanyala noted.
The
African record holder launched his season at the ASA Grand Prix series
in South Africa, placing third with 10.22 in the first leg before
storming to victory in the next with 10.08.
He followed it up with a solid 10.09 win at the 3rd Uganda National Trials late last month.
Omanyala
anchored Kenya's 4x100m relay team—featuring Justine Isaboke, Meshack
Babu and Isaac Omurwa—to victory in Uganda, clocking 39.50.
They finished ahead of Kenya team B — Tyson Juma, Kevin Kipkorir, Samuel Chege and Elkana Sabila (40.18).
Though
yet to break the 10-second barrier this year, Omanyala views the
Botswana clash as a crucial springboard toward his ultimate goal, the
World Championships in Tokyo.
"I
am looking ahead to a great 2025 season that ends up in Tokyo with the
World Championships, so I am just building up slowly towards that," he
added.
The
sprint star recently unveiled an ambitious race calendar that will see
him feature in the Xiamen (April 26) and Shanghai (May 3) Diamond League
meetings, the World Relays (May 10-11), Atlanta City Games (May 17),
Rabat Diamond League (May 25) and his homecoming at the Kip Keino
Classic (May 31).
Omanyala described Botswana as his second home.
"Botswana is like my second home, the reception has been awesome. I know the fans will turn up in large numbers, and the competition is going to be perfect," he noted.
In Gaborone, Omanyala will be joined in the 100m by compatriots Wiseman Were and former national record holder Mark Otieno.
The
200m clash will see Olympian Zablon Ekwam go toe-to-toe with Olympic
200m champion Letsile Tebogo, in front of his home crowd.
World
Under-20 800m champion Sarah Moraa will spearhead Kenya's charge in the
two-lap event, joined by 2021 World U-20 1,500m champion Purity
Chepkirui.
