Omanyala vows to steer 4x100m squad to Beijing after Botswana heartbreak

Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, at the World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana/ HANDOUT

Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, has vowed to spearhead Kenya’s men’s 4x100m relay squad back onto the global stage at the Beijing World Championships next year, shrugging off the disappointment of missing an automatic ticket over the weekend.

Relay teams had their shot at sealing early qualification for the Beijing showpiece during the World Relays in Botswana, where only the top two finishers from the heats and repechage rounds punched their tickets.

Omanyala joined forces with Mark Otieno, Ronald Koech and Meshack Babu in the men’s 4x100m. On Day One in Botswana, the Kenyan baton unit opened their campaign with a fifth-place finish in heat three, clocking a season’s best of 38.50. Canada blazed to a world-leading 37.56, while Germany (37.67) and Australia (37.87) secured second and third, respectively.

That result consigned the Kenyan team to the do-or-die repechage rounds on Day Two, where qualification hopes hung in the balance. Rising to the occasion, the quartet delivered a far sharper performance, storming to a national record of 38.27 in a blistering display of improved exchanges and acceleration.

However, their charge fell short as that time saw the team finish third, just outside the two automatic slots behind China (37.85) and Ghana (38.09), missing out on direct qualification for the Beijing bonanza.

Despite the setback, Omanyala remains defiant, confident that the squad’s trajectory is firmly upward. “I am looking forward to more competitions this year and more opportunities,” he said. “I am sure we will be in Beijing next year.”

The sprint king also lauded the team’s resilience in lowering the national benchmark under pressure. “There was a lot of pressure from Day One. I was a bit mad at the boys. But I am glad they showed up on day two and gave a good show,” he added. “The races didn’t go as planned, but the good thing about sports is  that you always get another chance to bounce back, shake off the disappointment and come back harder.”

Last year, the 4x100m squad made history as the first Kenyan team to qualify for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan. The quartet of Babu, Boniface Mweresa, Otieno and Stephen Odhiambo failed to proceed past the heats after clocking 38.56 for sixth place in their heat.  Looking ahead, Omanyala believes a packed competition calendar will be crucial in fine-tuning the squad’s speed and synergy as they chase qualification.

“We have the African Championships, the Athletics Kenya premium meet, the national championships and the Commonwealth Games. All these events will be key in sharpening the sprinters.”

On the individual front, Omanyala is still awaiting confirmation whether he will ignite his Diamond League campaign in China. "I’ll go back to training now for three weeks unless I get a lane in the Chinese Diamond League. If not, I’ll train and then pick up competitions in June,” he said.

The African record holder expressed satisfaction with his explosive start to the season. “The main thing for me was to get through the African tour, and it went well. I had three sub-10-second races in eight days, and finishing off with the World Relays was really good.”

So far this season, Omanyala has dipped under the coveted 10-second barrier three times, clocking 9.98 at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix on April 18, 9.96 at the Kip Keino Classic on April 24, and a scorching 9.95 at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 26.