Omanyala explains two-year absence from national championships
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Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 16.06.25. | 16:36
In an exclusive interview with Mozzart Sport, Omanyala revealed that his absence from the past two editions was not by design
Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, is set to grace the national stage for the first time in two years.
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Omanyala will compete in the upcoming Athletics Kenya National Championships, slated for Thursday, 26 to Saturday, 28 June at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi.
In an exclusive interview with Mozzart Sport, Omanyala revealed that his absence from the past two editions was not by design.
“It was not intentional. The dates kept changing, and that clashed with the race contracts I had already signed. That is why I could not compete in the last two editions,” he explained.
Currently in Estonia for a training camp, Omanyala’s most recent outing was at the Rome Diamond League on Friday, 6 June, where he clocked an impressive 10.01 seconds to finish third, narrowly missing the sub-10 barrier that continues to elude him this season.
His 2025 season has been both busy and consistent, marked by regular podium finishes and major milestones.
He opened his campaign with a comfortable 100m win at the Athletics Kenya Track and Field meet in Thika. He then placed third at the ASA Grand Prix I in South Africa with 10.22, before bouncing back to win the second leg in 10.08.
He then competed at the Uganda National Athletics trials, where he clocked 10.02 to win the 100m at their national trials and anchored Kenya to a thrilling 4×100m relay victory.
The momentum continued during the Botswana Grand Prix with a 10.00 second-place finish, followed by Diamond League stops in Xiamen (second in 10.13) and Shanghai, where he placed seventh with 10.25 in a rare off day.
At the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, Omanyala made history by leading Kenya to qualify for the 4×100m relay at the World Championships for the first time in decades.
He later sprinted 150m in 14.70 seconds at the Atlanta City Games to set new Kenyan and African records.
The Rabat Diamond League saw him finish second in 10.05, before matching the time for third place at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. In his most recent race in Rome, he once again showed form with a near-sub-10 at 10.01.
It is now a matter of wait and see if he will clock his first sub-10 on home soil.
