Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, has said winning the 150m race at the Atlanta City games has layed the groundwork for a shot at World Championship glory in Tokyo in September.
The Kenyan sprint star stormed to a commanding victory in the men’s 150m at the Atlanta City Games on Saturday, clocking a scintillating 14.70 seconds to break his African record of 14.89 in 2023 on the same course.
Originally billed for a high-voltage showdown with Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles, the clash fizzled after the American withdrew, citing an ankle injury.
Nonetheless, Omanyala put on a show, leading home Bahamian Terrence Jones (14.93) and American Mathew Boling (15.15) to notch his first global victory.
Omanyala revealed that featuring in the 150m helps him build endurance for the long season.
"I have done a couple of 100m up to now, so the 150m sets me up for the long season ahead, and I am happy it went great," he noted.
With the Tokyo World Championships slated for September, Omanyala is eyeing an intensive build-up to secure his first global medal in what will be his third appearance at the Worlds.
"Right now I am just building up slowly because this is like the second or third month since I kicked off my season, so I'm just getting into the groove," he noted.
Omanyala’s World Championships journey has been a steady climb. In Eugene 2022, he bowed out in the semifinals after placing fifth in 10.14.
However, in Budapest 2023, he surged into the final, finishing seventh in 10.07 in a race won by Lyles (9.83) ahead of Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (9.88) and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (9.88).
In Atlanta, Omanyala said a quick reaction out of the blocks was crucial.
"My coach told me to get out of the blocks fast, and that's what I did, and the momentum just kept pushing me on. Being a frontrunner, I just kept pushing to the finish line," he noted.
Omanyala pointed to Kenya's 4x100m relay team, which booked a maiden appearance at the World Championships after securing qualification at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, a week ago.
"We have been pushing so hard to get into the World Championships for a long time. What we did was historic, and I hope we can only inspire the next generation and that the relay team will always be at the World Championships," he said.
Omanyala, Boniface Mweresa, Meshack Babu and Steve Onyango clocked 38.51 seconds to place second behind Belgium (38.49) in the second round of the World Championship qualifiers.
They clocked a blistering 38.35 on Day One to finish third and secure a new national record.
A switch in tactics, he says, was the key to the team's exceptional performance.
"Usually I anchor, but we made a change and I decided to run on the second hand over," Omanyala said.
