Omanyala confirms third Diamond League meeting in Paris

Commonwealth reigning champion and Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has confirmed he will be competing in the Paris Diamond League on 9th June 2023 in France as he continues his preparations for the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships.

The meet in Paris will mark the third Diamond League race the Kenyan sensation will participate in this season and the fourth overall in his career following his debut in the elite track and field competition that came in Brussels back in September 2021.

Before competing in France, the 27-year-old will make his second and third Diamond League appearances in Rabat, Morocco and Florence, Italy in back to back races scheduled to take place on 28 May and 2 June respectively before landing in France.

The African record holder is set to face a blockbuster field both in Rabat and Florence where he is set to compete against reigning 100m Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, World champion Fred Kerley and defending Diamond League winner Trayvon Bromell among other stars.

Omanyala confirmed for Florence Diamond League alongside Kerley, Jacobs

The trio of Omanyala, Jacobs, and Kerley was to face off for the first time last year during the third edition of the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi but Jacobs was forced to pull out of the event in the 11th hour due to illness with Omanyala going on to beat Kerley.

The American got his Diamond League campaign off to a winning start in the 200m in the Qatari capital before making a statement in his first 100m outing of the season where he ran a 9.88 heat before a 9.91 final in two dominant performances at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix.

Jacobs on the other hand has not appeared on the circuit since his third-place finish in Monaco in 2021, just before his Olympic triumph.

Omanyala on his part has had a stellar start to his season that has already seen him produce a world leading time of 9.84s that he set during the fourth edition of the Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour Gold in Nairobi.

He has also picked victories in the Botswana Grand Prix and the first and second edition of the Athletics South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix held in South Africa.

The Diamond League comprises 14 of the most prestigious events in global track and field. Athletes compete for points at the 13 series meetings in a bid to qualify for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final in Eugene on 16th-17th September.

Ferdinand Omanyala: The stone that was once rejected but is now Kenya’s athletic cornerstone