Commonwealth Games 100 metres champion and Africa record holder Ferdinand Omanyala has confirmed his participation in the upcoming Diamond League meeting in Rabat, Morroco on May 28, 2023.
An elated Omanyala while speaking in Gaborone, Botswana, Omanyala said his ultimate target will be winning the Diamond League trophy on his debut, and he believes his body is in good shape to scoop the coveted title.
“I have invitations for Rabat, Florence, Italy on June 2 and Paris, France on June 9. I hope to get more invites towards the end of the season, but my target remains to win the Diamond League meeting,” Omanyala said.
The Diamond League season-opener is set for May 5 in Doha, Qatar, and it is part of the 14 best invitational meets that make up the annual track and field athletics series.
Despite his ambition of winning the Diamond League, Omanyala has also set his eyes on being the first African to win the 100 m gold medal when he competes at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary come August.
“My target is a sub 9.70. Looking at how things are going, I will achieve it. It has never happened in Africa and I want to achieve it. Budapest is a neutral ground for all of us,” Omanyala said.
Omanyala heads to the US for the Adidas Atlanta City Games before returning home for the Kip Keino Classic on May 13, where he intends to break his African record.
“I promised to break the African record at Kip Keino. I hope to get good competition. I want someone who will push me all the way, and hopefully, I can break the African record in front of our home fans,” Omanyala added.
In the just concluded FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix meeting Omanyala came out victorious by setting a new World lead time of 9.78 ahead of home favourite double World Under 20 champion Letsile Tebogo, who clocked 9.91.
However, his time could not be ratified as a world lead despite being the fastest this year, due to what the organisers termed as wind-assisted.
