S. GitahiBudapest 23: Omanyala labours to seventh place finish in 100m final
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Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 20.08.23. | 20:41
Botswana's Tebogo became the first African to medal in the event
Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala, in the biggest stage of his sprinting career, at the end looked a bit leggy, as he laboured Sunday night on the outside lane of a star studded field to finish seventh in the 100m finals.
The Kenyan and African champion, who had secured his place in the last eight courtesy of a 10.01 performance in the semifinals could only time 10.07 this time, taking advantage of a quick break to finish only ahead of Jamaican Ryiem Forde who hit the clock at 10.08 seconds.
At the end of it all however, it was American Noah Lyles who had the last laugh, as he walked his pre-race talk to breeze to a brilliant win, marking this year’s world lead time of 9.83.
Apart from the fact that Omanyala had himself made history in becoming the first Kenyan to make it through to the Worlds 100m finals, another African - in the name of Botswana's Letsile Tebogo - was another history maker in the last event of Day Two, producing an epic performance that saw him claim silver in a national record time of 9.88 seconds.
Tebogo, who had at some point in the championships talked about dealing with 'some problems back home', was at his top level here, hitting out from the blocks second fastest, and nicking past Zharnel Hughes and Christian Coleman who looked to hold a sizeable advantage midway into the race.
World leader then, Hughes, came in third, clocking 9.88, while talented Oblique Seville came in fourth in a tied time of 9.88.
Omanyala's goal in Budapest could have been more than the seventh place finish, but he made a remarkable improvement from last year's championships in Oregon where he didn't even make it to the final.
As for Lyles, a chance to bag double gold looks all the more likely, as his hunt to defend his 200m title begins on Day 5 of the nine day championships.
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