African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala set a world lead of 9.85 to win the men's 100m during the Kip Keino Classic at Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Saturday evening.
Olympic 100m silver medalist, American Fred Kerley, clocked 9.92 in second as his fellow countryman, Isaiah Young, came third in a season best of 10.13.
"It feels nice...I promised a show and I delivered. We are just beginning the season and we have around three months before the World Championships. This was part of the preparations. All these other guys (sprints giants) are just like us Kenyans...we only just need to tap the talent," Omanyala said.
Before a capacity crowd, which included President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, the Kitale-born started slowly off the blocks before pulling away from Kerley to surge home in first place.
It was not easy though as the race was marred by a false start albeit Omanyala says he was not mentally affected by that nerve-racking moment.
"In every race, these things sometimes happen. There might be a false start or you might even incur an injury. I had prepared myself and wasn't affected by that (false start) rather had to pick myself up and continue," he said.
Similarly, Kerley was counting the positives of an energy-sapping race, pointing to the fact that 9.92 is his season best.
"It was a fast race...I clocked my season best and I am happy. We had a false start but that's part of life. We move on to the next race," the American, who clocked a personal best of 19.76 in the men's 200m at last year's edition, said.
