In Ethiopia, Omanyala will headline a strong Kenyan cast that includes former national record holder Mark Otieno, his brother Isaac Omurwa,and Samuel Chege.

Kenyan sprint ace and Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, will be out to stretch his strong start to the season when he lines up at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix this weekend, riding high after an encouraging outdoor opener in South Africa.

Omanyala fired the first warning shot of his campaign at the Cape Milers World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meet in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where he powered to victory in the 100m, clocking a solid 10.19.

“Thank you Stellenbosch for showering me with so much love and support,” Omanyala shared after the race.

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Buoyed by that commanding display, the Kenyan speed merchant now shifts focus to Addis Ababa on Sunday, keen to maintain his upward trajectory.

In Ethiopia, Omanyala will headline a strong Kenyan cast that includes former national record holder Mark Otieno, his brother Isaac Omurwa, and Samuel Chege.

The quartet is expected to lock horns with a competitive field featuring Ethiopian sprinters and American speedsters such as Lawrence Johnson and Samuel Blaskouski.

Following the Ethiopian showdown, Omanyala will return home for the Kip Keino Classic on April 24, where he is set to headline a mouth-watering 100m clash against 2018 Commonwealth Games 200m silver medallist Aaron Brown of Canada.

The 2022 Commonwealth 100m champion will then round off a busy April schedule at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 26, where he is pencilled in for a high-stakes duel against 2020 Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse.

Beyond the immediate fixtures, Omanyala’s broader mission remains to dip under 10 seconds for the first time since August 2024, when he blazed to 9.88 at the Silesia Diamond League.

Last season proved a testing one for the 30-year-old, as he struggled to consistently breach the 10-second mark across his races.

He had opened his campaign in South Africa with times of 10.22 for third place and 10.08 for victory at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix 1 and 2 respectively. His 2025 season also featured a win at the third Uganda National Trials (10.09) and a runner-up finish at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix (10.00).

On the Diamond League circuit, Omanyala endured a mixed run of results — finishing second in Xiamen (10.13), ninth in Shanghai (10.25), second in Rabat (10.05), and seventh in the 100m invitational in Brussels (10.49).

His campaign ultimately fizzled out at the Tokyo World Championships in September, where he fell short of the final after placing fifth in his semi-final heat in 10.09.

The 2026 season has also begun on a mixed note. Omanyala opened indoors with an eighth-place finish in the 60m at the Miramas Metropole meet, clocking 6.86 on January 30.

Eight days later, he showed improvement with a fourth-place finish at the Russian LFK CSKA meeting, timing 6.66 behind Nigeria’s Sunday Akintan (6.48), Russia’s Konstantin Krylov (6.57), and Dmitriy Ustinov (6.66).

On March 28, Omanyala played a key role in Kenya’s relay charge at the Lefika International Relays in Botswana, anchoring the men’s 4x100m team of Boniface Mweresa, Ronald Koech, and Meshack Babu to silver in 39.12, behind Nigeria’s winning time of 38.98.

He also featured in the mixed 4x100m squad alongside Millicent Ndoro, Mweresa, and Mercy Oketch, with the quartet claiming silver in 41.70, again finishing behind Nigeria (41.44).