Omanyala cancels Greece race: What next for Kenya’s sprint star?
Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after competing in the men's 100m heat of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
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Ferdinand Omanyala has cancelled his planned appearance at the Dromia International Sprint and Relays Meeting in Greece as he shifts focus to a busy Diamond League schedule ahead.
The Kenyan sprint star was expected to compete at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting on Saturday, but after consultations with his management team, the decision was made to withdraw from the race.
The move comes days after Omanyala endured a difficult outing at the Rome Diamond League, where he finished eighth in the men’s 100m after clocking 10.11 seconds in a world-class field.
American sprint icon Noah Lyles took victory in 9.88 seconds ahead of Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme who set a national record of 9.94 seconds, while Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo completed the podium in 9.95 seconds.
Omanyala believes there were positives to take from the race, insisting the result was not a reflection of his true ability.
“Rome was… I can’t say tough because I was prepared. I just had a bit of an issue with my stumble at the start, and in such an elite field, that affected everything,” Omanyala told Citizen Digital.
“My drive phase was affected, everything was affected in that race.”
The African 100m record holder, however, remains confident after noticing encouraging signs from his performance.
“If you look closely at the statistics, only three people hit the top-end speed that I got to. So that is a positive I got from that,” he added.
With Greece now off his calendar, Omanyala’s attention turns to the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands on June 21, before returning to the Diamond League stage in Paris on June 28.
He will then face another major test at the Monaco Diamond League, where he is expected to line up against some of the same global sprint heavyweights before shifting focus to the Commonwealth Games.
“We cancelled the race in Greece, so we are picking up next week from Hengelo, then Paris Diamond League, then Monaco Diamond League, and then Commonwealth,” said Omanyala.
The Kenyan sprinter also dismissed suggestions that competing against big names such as Lyles had affected him, saying he has already proved he can beat the best.
Omanyala is now hoping for another opportunity to challenge the world’s best, with Paris set to feature the same group of elite sprinters.
“I’m glad Paris is having the same sprinters. We’ll go back to that conversation again,” he said.
The Kenyan sprint star was expected to compete at the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meeting on Saturday, but after consultations with his management team, the decision was made to withdraw from the race.
The move comes days after Omanyala endured a difficult outing at the Rome Diamond League, where he finished eighth in the men’s 100m after clocking 10.11 seconds in a world-class field.
American sprint icon Noah Lyles took victory in 9.88 seconds ahead of Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme who set a national record of 9.94 seconds, while Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo completed the podium in 9.95 seconds.
Omanyala believes there were positives to take from the race, insisting the result was not a reflection of his true ability.
“Rome was… I can’t say tough because I was prepared. I just had a bit of an issue with my stumble at the start, and in such an elite field, that affected everything,” Omanyala told Citizen Digital.
“My drive phase was affected, everything was affected in that race.”
The African 100m record holder, however, remains confident after noticing encouraging signs from his performance.
“If you look closely at the statistics, only three people hit the top-end speed that I got to. So that is a positive I got from that,” he added.
With Greece now off his calendar, Omanyala’s attention turns to the FBK Games in Hengelo, Netherlands on June 21, before returning to the Diamond League stage in Paris on June 28.
He will then face another major test at the Monaco Diamond League, where he is expected to line up against some of the same global sprint heavyweights before shifting focus to the Commonwealth Games.
“We cancelled the race in Greece, so we are picking up next week from Hengelo, then Paris Diamond League, then Monaco Diamond League, and then Commonwealth,” said Omanyala.
The Kenyan sprinter also dismissed suggestions that competing against big names such as Lyles had affected him, saying he has already proved he can beat the best.
Omanyala is now hoping for another opportunity to challenge the world’s best, with Paris set to feature the same group of elite sprinters.
“I’m glad Paris is having the same sprinters. We’ll go back to that conversation again,” he said.
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