Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, is bullish about his chances of a third 100m Kip Keino Classic victory on Saturday at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
The Kenyan sprint sensation burst onto the global stage at this event in 2021, clocking 9.77 seconds to smash the African record while finishing second behind American Trayvon Bromell (9.76). 2004 Olympic champion Justin Gatlin was third in 10.03.
Omanyala returned in 2022 to win it in 9.85, outpacing Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Fred Kerley (9.92) and fellow American Isiah Young (10.13).
He repeated the feat in 2023, stopping the clock at 9.84 to edge out two-time Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenneth Bednarek (9.98) and Marvin Bracy-Williams (10.03).
However, his bid for a hat-trick of wins fell short in 2024, finishing fifth in 10.03 as Bednarek exerted revenge with a 9.91 win.
Liberia’s Emmanuel Matadi (9.99) and Britain’s Jeremiah Azu (10.00) rounded off the podium.
Now, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion is hungry for redemption.
"I have grown through the Kip Keino meet, and it has profiled me to be at the top. People come to Kenya basically to compete against me," he added.
He recalls his breakthrough in 2021, when he unexpectedly set the African record, and his victories over global sprint icons.
"The most memorable moment for me is breaking the African record when I least expected it in 2021," he said.
"I have also beaten some top sprinters like Kerley, Gatlin and Bednarek, a highlight in my career."
He observed that the entry of global sprint stars in the Kenyan leg of the World Continental Tour has inspired local sprinters.
"Kenyan sprinters have grown because they have had a chance to see these top sprinters compete on Kenyan soil," he said.
On Saturday, Omanyala will go head-to-head with Australia's World Indoor silver medallist Lachlan Kennedy, South African duo of double World U-20 champion Bayanda Walaza and 2019 Africa U-20 200m champion Shaun Maswangangi, former 100m national record holder Mark Otieno, Olympic 4x100m champion Jerome Blake, 2022 world silver medallist Elijah Hall and Belgium's Simon Verherstraeten.
Since kicking off his Diamond League campaign in Xiamen, Omanyala has noted flashes of improvement.
"I have been on the podium in a couple of races, except one. I am just getting my rhythm and once I hit it, it will be lethal," he said.
In Xiamen he clocked 10.13 behind South Africa's Akani Simbine (9.99).
He fell short in his second outing in Shanghai to finish last (10.25) before roaring back last Sunday in Rabat, finishing second (10.05) behind Simbine (9.95).
His 150m win at the Atlanta City Games will be key as he eyes a couple of 200m races.
"I am planning to run a couple of 200m races later in the year. The 150m (race) was to gauge where the body is," he noted.
In Atlanta, he clocked 14.70 to shatter his area record, leading Terrence Jones of the Bahamas (14.93) and the host's Mathew Boling (15.15).
