- Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala posted a new record of 9.78s to bag victory at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix
- Omanyala, a 100m Commonwealth Games champion elbowed out celebrated teenage Tswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo
- He improved his time from 10.22s in South Africa to 9.78s
Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala posted a new record of 9.78s to bag victory at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix held in Gaborone on Saturday.
Omanyala, a 100m Commonwealth Games champion elbowed out celebrated teenage Tswana sprinter Letsile Tebogo. The latter crossed the finish line in second place in 9.91sc. Omanyala’s 9.78s was short of 0.01s of his African record which he posted 9.77 seconds.
However, the time that Omanyala clocked at the Botswana Continental Tour Gold is the fastest in the 100 metres this year.
In a celebratory post, Omanyala attributed his success in Botswana Grand Prix to his belief in the gospel.
Ferdinand Omanyala. Photo/PlugTV
“I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever,” he wrote on his Instagram page.
Omanyala has had a spectacular season thus far, setting the national record in the 60-meter dash and then clocking a time of 9.83 seconds at an Athletics Kenya competition in February.
A week ago, Omanyala won the second Athletics South Africa Grand Prix in Gauteng which marked his second major victory away from home in 2023.
He won the race with a time of 10.05 seconds, which is faster than his previous best performance from this season of 10.16 seconds.
Still, he is yet to meet his preseason goal of running a mile in under 10 seconds but he remains optimistic he will get there soon.
Omanyala took a little longer to up his speed giving Samwel Imeta, a fellow countryman, a fast start. However, Omanyala caught up with him at 60m and he made his signature final half sprint to bag the victory.
Ferdinand Omanyala. [Ferdi Omanyala]
“I am happy to have won in South Africa again. Of course it is sad that I couldn’t get to the sub-10. It is still very elusive but I can feel it coming. I have improved on my time and I feel like I am getting faster and faster. This was a better performance and I can only go lower from here in terms of time,” he said post-race.
Looking forward to the Botswana Grand Prix, he remarked that it was his final shot in running under 10 seconds which he successfully did.
While the pressure to keep up with the performance is there, the Kenyan sprinting champion says it keeps him focused.
After Botswana, his eyes are now fixed on winning his next race in Budapest and he is upbeat he could break the 9.77s record he made in Kasarani.
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