The phone call that changed Ferdinand Omanyala’s life in 2021

At the beginning of the year 2021, Ferdinand Omurwa Omanyala was an outcast in the Kenyan athletics fraternity.

Shunned by the sport’s officials but disingenuously tolerated in the local meetings for his speed which was hoped would help propel other struggling sprinters, most notably Mark Otieno to attain the set qualifying standards for Tokyo Olympic Games.

So, on he ran and boy, did he not set improved times over 100m in every succeeding race?

As fate had it, Omurwa Omanyala’s feats on the tracks would end the year as Kenyan athletics’ biggest achievements in 2021 and the erstwhile loathed sprinter as the darling to millions.

Trouble with Athletics world

Omanyala’s problems with the sport of athletics date back to 2017 when a doping infraction got him banned fourteen months. His trainer Duncan Ayiemba was slapped with a two-year ban for administering Glucocorticoid Betamethasone.

The fallout from his failed doping test set the tone for a bitter spell as he engaged Athletics Kenya officials through lawsuits and media tirades disputing the adverse analytical findings by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK).

Around that time a rising number of high profile Kenyan athletes failed various doping tests attracting global condemnation and a very negative spotlight on Kenyan athletics. The western media was particularly feral in their coverage.

Thus a de facto rule was set to bar any athlete who fails a drug test from ever representing Kenya in a championship of any nature.

Athletics Kenya officials were particularly irked by Omanyala’s audacity to question, criticize and drag them to court. Thus sitting AK president Jack Tuwei vowed to ensure Omanyala never dons Kenya’s famous red vest in a championship of any magnitude.

“He is no doubt a talented by but he will only represent Kenya over my dead body” Athletics Kenya vice president Paul Mutwii told Mozzart Sport

Rising fortunes

Cognizant of the fact that he may never represent Kenya at any level despite his massive talent and ever increasing speed, Omanyala nonetheless started the year preparing like he was already assured of a place in the Olympic team.

Right around the same time Kenya Sevens Rugby Team head coach Innocent Simiyu was cobbling up a new strategy of having flying wingers to inject pace in his struggling team. Omanyala, a former rugby player fit his profile and the athlete was invited to train with the Kenya Sevens team.

Under the tutelage of National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) A-list fitness trainer Geoffrey Mwangi who also happens to be in possession of the highest sprints coaching badges Omanyala hit the ground running very early in the year.

Mwangi had been seconded to Kenya Sevens from NOC-K to aid their preparations so both ways Omanyala would either fit in Simiyu’s team or gain a massive advantage on the tracks having worked with the much sought after Mwangi and starting his preparations early.

One morning Omanyala was kicked out of Kenya Sevens training. His close confidates say Athletics Kenya chiefs with influence at National Olympic Committee of Kenya got him outed. His world crashed. From having two promising avenues at the start of 2021 to returning for a confrontation with his athletics demon for a lifeline.

Enter DBA Africa

Omanyala’s early start with Kenya Sevens had him ripe for track racing by end of February and well ahead of other sprinters who were only starting serious conditioning. The Covid-19 lockdowns also left Olympic Games qualifying window a lot longer than ordinary.

So on Omanyala went in his quest for qualifying time. By then he was averaging 10.7 seconds over the 100m distance, two milliseconds shy of what was needed to book the Olympic time.

Broke, increasingly frustrated by failure to get the Olympic qualifying time and worse, the thought of never representing Kenya even if he qualified for The Games.

“I must thank my wife for being present in my life when all the chips were down. Paying our rent and ensuring the family kept going as I worked my way, my wife played a really big role in my success,” the sprinter later confessed

During the frantic search for qualifying time and with thinning number of well-organized races Omanyala was made aware of the 3rd MoC Grand Prix in Lagos, Nigeria.

The race was penciled for 30th March. He secured an invitation but was unable to travel due to lack of funds. Then a sports management company, DBA Africa, run by a Lyle Asiligwa, a former Kenya XV’s Rugby player, came to his rescue.

DBA Africa funded Omanyala’s travel to Lagos for the 3rd MoC Grand Prix where he broke the Kenyan record as he clocked 10.01 seconds at the Yabatech Sports Complex. That time would also guarantee a first class ticket to the Olympic Games.

Athletics Kenya disown Omanyala

As the news and joy swirled over the first Kenyan to ever attain qualifying time for a 100m race in Olympic Games, Athletics Kenya’s adversarial official quickly dismissed Omanyala’s feat and insisted that he would never get near the Kenyan team.

“What kind of race was that? We are don’t know if it met the set standards for such times to be recognized and we have not been contacted by Nigerian athletics officials about it. So we don’t recognize that time,” dismissive Athletics Kenya Director of Competitions Mutwii told Mozzart Sport then

Controversy ensued. At that time the Nigerian athletics federation had two factions. One group recognized the race while the other dismissed it. Athletics Kenya eagerly embraced the latter. Omanyala’s efforts and the input of DBA Africa and other support personnel were headed to the trash.

Intervention from Office of the President

Omanyala’s predicament sparked serious debate in Kenya with intriguing arguments in support for AK’s stance on convicted dope cheats and others calling for leniency.

Then the phone rang. A stern caller from the Office of the President instructing Athletics Kenya and NOC-K to ensure Omanyala boards the plane to Tokyo, Japan without any more drama.

“That call saved changed everything for Omanyala. He sure would have been left out of Team Kenya. A Cabinet Minister with links to one betting company intervened and AK was then compelled to do everything as instructed,” a source within AK intimated to Mozzart Sport  

Omanyala’s next race took him to South Africa where he clocked 10.02 in May but zoomed to a scintillating 10.02 at the Kenyan trials in June and pulled Mark Otieno with him past the Olympic qualifying time.

Improved time

At the Olympic Games Omanyala breezed into the semis and equaled the 30th March performance by recording his second 10.01 second race over 100m.

The eye catching show at the Olympics earned him invitations to meetings in Europe where his magic spread.

Omanyala broke the Kenyan record twice on 14th August 2021 at the International Josko Laufmeeting in Austria, first clocking 9.96 then massively lowering it to 9.86 in the next race.

His fame and fortune slowly rose. On 19th August a slow 10.09 second performance at the Motonet GP in Lahti, Finland reminded him how quickly he can lose it all.

African record and 2nd best show of the year

The 25 year-old anchored down to prepare for his closing race of the season at home – Kip Keino Classic- set for Kasarani stadium on 19th September 2021.

Amid the growing media glare, attention from growing fans and sponsors queueing to grab a bite of Omanyala’s fame, the now designate Kenya Police recruit stopped the show with a performance that is still unimaginable to many.

Lining up at Kasarani with some of the greats in the sport like Justin Gatlin and Tryvon Brommel, Omanyala clocked 9.77 to set a new national and African record but finished behind Brommel.

The performance was 2nd overall over the distance in 2021 and with it Omanyala became the 8th fastest man of all time.

He is mentioned alongside the sport’s greats like Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell, Justin Gatlin, Christian Coleman and Tryvon Bromell.