Omanyala, Syombua ready for Olympics action

National men's 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala and his women's 400m record holder Hellen Syombua say they feel ready for the tough task ahead as where they will be representing Kenya in their distances at the Olympic Games. 

Omanyala, alongside Mark Otieno, will make history as the first athlete to represent Kenya in the men's 100m at the Olympics when he lines up for the heats scheduled for Saturday, 21 July. 

"The journey has been very long. We left on Monday and arrived in Kurume on Thursday, four days later! The good thing is that we are here and no one has tested positive for Covid-19, that’s the most important thing," 

"Training has been good so far. We got here with approximately eight training days confirmed before we go for the heats at the Olympic competition. Personally I feel good, I feel strong, I feel fast. So expect very good results," said a confident Omanyala. 

The speedster, who until running 10.02 at Kasarani during the Athletics Kenya (AK) Olympics trials was yet to qualify for the Summer Games and there were questions on his eligibility having served a doping ban before is not letting anything deeail him now that he has the ticket to the biggest sporting event in the world. 

Upon arriving at the Japanese city of Kurume where the national men's and women's rugby teams as well as the women's volleyball team are camping, he expressed delight in finding his favourite meal on the menu. Nutrition forms a big part of his career and competition. 

“The food is great. I found ugali here and I couldn't be happier. Imagine ugali and beef, very nice," an amused Omanyala said. 

On her part, the soft spoken Syombua is excited to be back in Japan where she competed during the 2019 world relays. 

“My body is in better shape. I feel better than I did in 2019. My race is not until August 3, but I want to prepare and run very well to qualify for the semi final," said Syombua. 

She ran her personal best time during the Olympics pre-trials held at Nyayo in May, clocking 52.92 and is looking to build on that performance. She ran a much slower race during the trials, something she attributed to the cold and wet weather conditions. 

“This camp is very well organized. For now the weather is good for me. As sprinters we will get used to it by the time I compete so I don’t think it will affect me," she added.