Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, believes he has finally rediscovered his top gear after storming to his first sub-10-second finish over 100m since August 2024.
Omanyala lit up the track over the weekend at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Ethiopia, storming to victory in the 100m, timing 9.98.
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That race saw Haiti’s Christopher Borzor settle for second in 10.16, while Italy’s Chituru Ali powered to third in 10.26. Kenya’s Mark Otieno narrowly missed out on the podium, clocking 10.27 for fourth, with Samuel Chege rounding off the top five in 10.33.
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Buoyed by the performance in Addis Ababa, Omanyala cut a confident figure, declaring on his socials: “I am better.”
The Ethiopian showdown proved a crucial confidence booster for the 30-year-old, coming off a frustrating 2025 campaign in which he failed to break the 10-second barrier. His last sub-10 performance dated back to August 25, 2024, when he clocked a sizzling 9.88 to finish second at the Silesia Diamond League.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m champion endured a stop-start 2025 season. He opened his campaign in South Africa, clocking 10.22 for third place before bouncing back to win in 10.08 at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix 1 and 2, respectively.
Omanyala’s season trail also saw him claim victory at the third Uganda National Trials in 10.09 before finishing second at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix in 10.00.
On the Diamond League circuit, he posted a mixed bag of results: 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, however, fizzled out at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, where he failed to progress beyond the semi-finals after clocking 10.09 for fifth place in his heat.
Before his Addis Ababa resurgence, Omanyala had opened his 2026 season at the Cape Milers World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meet in Stellenbosch, South Africa, sprinting to victory in 10.19. That race saw him edge past South Africa’s Ubay Arend (10.55) and Keegan Van Der Merwe (10.56).
The two outings now serve as a vital testing ground as the Kenyan speedster fine-tunes his engine ahead of headlining the Kip Keino Classic set for Friday. Barnaba Korir, Athletics Kenya’s chair for youth development, led the nation in saluting Omanyala’s return to form.
“Congratulations to Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala for a commanding performance at the inaugural Addis Ababa Grand Prix, where he stormed to men’s 100m gold in 9.98 seconds. The time marks a return to sub-10 form, signalling a strong step in his season progression,” he said.
In other results at the Addis Ababa meet, Kenya asserted its sprint depth in the 200m, with Chege sprinting to victory in 20.63 ahead of Zablon Ekwam, who clocked 20.85 for second. Nigeria’s Chidi Okezie completed the podium in 20.92.
In the women’s one-lap contest, Mercy Chebet powered to second place in 51.38 behind Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya, who took top honours in 50.28.
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