Sports

Omanyala shifts focus to world title after French heroics

By
Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after winning gold during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom. PHOTO/COURTESY
Ferdinand Omanyala celebrates after winning gold during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom. PHOTO/COURTESY

African record holder and Commonwealth 100 m champion Ferdinand Omanyala has vowed to bag the global title at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest later this year.

His sentiments come days after Omanyala’s heroics in the just concluded World Athletics Indoor in France on Wednesday by breaking his own 60 m national record twice.

However, Omanyala has quickly shifted his focus to clinching the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest which is scheduled for August 19 to 27.

In an in-depth interview with journalists, Omanyala spoke of his dream after setting a new 60 m national record while beating Olympic 100 m champion Marcell Lamont Jacobs in France.

“Kenya will be the world champion in Budapest this year. I am extremely happy. I’m overjoyed about how well I did in France. It simply depicts how the season will be,” Omanyala said.

This was the first time Omanyala, who improved his previous record by 0.1 sec, was beating Jacobs. Arthur Cisse from Cote d’Ivoire came third in 6.59 sec.

According to Omanyala, he is in better shape than he was last year during the same period when he made his indoor debut.

The National Police Service officer has a busy schedule ahead with the World Athletics Continental Gold Tour in Botswana on April 29 and the ASA Grand Prix in South Africa on April 12 and 19 among his first assignments.

Omanyala has lined up two Athletics Kenya Track and Field Meetings, two World Athletics Continental Tour, and six Diamond League races among other events.

Prior to the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on May 13, he will try his luck at the Doha Diamond League on May 5 before heading out for the Rabat meeting on May 28, Monaco on July 21, and Rome on June 2.

On September 8, he will compete at the Brussels Diamond League with the hopes of qualifying for the Prefontaine Classic finals, scheduled for September 16–17.

Author

Milton Nyakundi

Milton Nyakundi is a veteran multimedia journalist with over 20 years of experience across broadcast, digital, and print media, who relocated to the United States in 2022 and is now the Senior International Correspondent for Kurunzi News based in Washington, DC, USA. He has previously worked with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), among other high-profile roles with Kenya's first privately-owned media outlet - Kenya Television Network. His experience also include prominent roles as Media Consultant for Football Kenya Federation (FKF), and StarTimes Kenya. His career spans high‑stakes political reporting covering legislative and constitutional issues, elections, governance, and accountability across Kenya, Africa, and global arenas. He also boasts extensive sports journalism experience, covering local and international sports events, including leagues, tournaments and sports governance. He is well-known for his investigative depth, editorial leadership, and evidence-driven journalism that guides his consistent delivery of public‑interest storytelling across platforms.

View all posts by Milton Nyakundi

0 Comments

Leave a comment

More on Sports