African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala joins Kenya Police Service and will be running for the law enforcers in all future assignments locally.
Omanyala who rose to prominence this year after reaching the semi-finals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo met with the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai on Friday where it was announced that he would be joining the service.
“Voila! Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa, Africa’s 100m record holder and Kenya’s sensational sprinter has joined the National Police Service. The 25-year-old athlete has taken up a new role that will see him represent the National Police Service and the country in future track events,” the NPS posted on their official Twitter page.
Speaking after meeting Mutyambai, Omanyala who is also a student at the University of Nairobi said he made the decision to join the Police Service with life after active sports on his mind.
“It is an honour to serve the National Police Service and I promise to give my best as an athlete. I also understand that there is life after sprinting,” Omanyala said.
Ferdinand Omanyala receives the Kenya Police flag Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai. PHOTO/National Police/Twitter
Omanyala now becomes the latest high profile athlete joining an institution. The Kenya Police and the Defence Forces boast of having some of the most elite Kenyan athletes in their ranks.
Among other athletes who also represent Ferdinand Omanyala joins Kenya Police include World 800m record holder David Rudisha, 3,000m steeple chase king Ezekiel Kemboi, three-time world Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, two-time Olympic Champion Vivian Cheruiyot among others.
Last week, 800m rising star Mary Moraa was among recruits who graduated at the Administration Police College in Embakasi.
However, it is not yet clear whether Omanyala will head to the Police Training School in Kiganjo or not, with the new year portending a busy schedule for him.
He is set to compete at the African and World Championships as well as the Commonwealth Games.
Omanyala’s star continues to rise on a year that he defied the odds to rise and become the hottest sprinting sensation in the continent.
Ferdinand Omanyala with President Uhuru Kenyatta
In October, he ran the fastest ever time on Kenyan and African soil when he finished second at the Kip Keino Classic last month to clock 9.77secs, the second fastest time in the world this year and the eighth fastest of all time.
The race was a culmination of what has been a surprise year for Omanyala who started off by qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games with a new Personal Best time of 10.02secs which also ranked as the new national record.
Qualification to the Olympic Games was something that came with hardships of its own.
He had initially hit qualification standards at the start of the year in a race in Nigeria, but Athletics Kenya refused to recognize the time, which also doubled as a National Record saying the competition, christened Making of Champions, was not recognized.
He had also been barred from qualification to the Olympics as Athletics Kenya argued that a previous ban he had served for doping prevented him from donning the Kenyan jersey due to new rules.
Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates his qualification at the Olympic Games. PHOTO/Reuters
However, Omanyala fought his way through and was ultimately invited to the Kenyan Olympic trials where he clocked the qualification time in what was then a national record of 10.04secs.
In Tokyo, he equalled his own record and set a new one by running 10.01secs in the semi-finals but could not make a historic place in the last eight for the final.
He continued in his imperious form by becoming the first ever Kenyan to run below 10seconds when he clocked a new national record of 9.86secs at the International Josko Running Meeting in Andorf, Austria in August.
Also, Read: Ferdinand Advises Newcastle to sign Lingard and Declan Rice
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