Strength coach Kimani tips Omanyala to leave huge footprints on track

Trailblazing Kenyan sprinter and Africa's record holder over the 100m Ferdinand Omanyala has been among the busiest athletes this season.

So engaged has the 26 year-old been that burnout concerns have been raised from certain quarters.

However, experienced Sprints, Strength, and Conditioning Coach Geoffrey Kimani opines that the 26-year-old is on the right track and is set for a splendid season ahead.

Kimani, who has now returned to the Kenya Sevens fold once again for the fourth stint also believes that the indoor races that Omanyala has been involved in have played a great role in sharpening him up for the season.

"On the contrary, he's setting himself up for a great season. In sprints the more you run the more you get sharper plus perfect your racing model! The indoor season was also a great chance for him to get competitive early. I am not sure about his schedule but I guess his coach and him have planned for a taper at some point since 3 major championships are in line for him. With his current form, he's in good standing to win a medal but they must factor that in their plans," Kimani said.

The Strength and Conditioning coach also believes that Omanyala would benefit from embracing the principle of variety as it is in training, something that he has tried with the 60m dash and the 200m.

"In training, we have things known as principles of training. One of which is the principle of variety. He seemed very good in the 200m at the police and national championships, so some variety out there would also do him great," he added.

Omanyala to face off with idol Blake in Ostrava

Since February, he has taken to the track 20 times in 11 different events, quite a noticeable difference from last year when he had taken part in only 12 races from six events.

The sprint sensation focused a lot on the 60m dash in early February and March, a distance that he said he was using to improve his reaction off the blocks and that seems to have worked in his favor according to his performance at Kasarani last weekend.

Noticeably, he has bettered his time in that time and has even dipped below 10 seconds in his last two races, the 9.98s at ASA Athletics Grand Prix 4, Germiston Stadium, Johannesburg, and the 9.85s at Kasarani Stadium during the Kip Keino Classic Continental Gold Tour last weekend.

He has now run .16s faster than he had done at this time last year when he had clocked 10.01s during the 3rd MoC Grand Prix at Yabatech Sport Complex, Lagos which saw him hit the Olympics qualifying timeOmanyala has a busy schedule for the next three weeks where he is set to run four races.

He will start off with build-up races, one in Italy and two in Germany on May 22, May 25, and May 28 respectively before closing the month with a duel against his idol Yohan Blake at the Golden Spike Continental Tour meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic.