Why Ferdinand Omanyala is not planning to lose weight

Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, has clarified that shedding weight is not on his to-do list, and science supports this.

“I am not big. I look big on TV, but I am not big. One thing that people do not understand is that sprinting is physics. The harder you hit the ground, the harder that ground gives you the force that you put down. So, you need the strength,” Omanyala said in an interview with Homeboyz Radio.

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One of the fundamental principles of sprinting is Newton’s Third Law of Motion: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sprinters rely on generating an immense ground reaction force with every stride. The more powerful the push, the greater the propulsive force that drives them forward.

Omanyala, who has a muscular build, explained that his physique is not the result of bulking up unnecessarily but rather a natural response to strength training.

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“There are other sprinters who have the strength, and they do not bulk up, but there are these types of sprinters who come from Western Kenya like me. Once you hit the gym, they become ripped, not big. There is a guy who told me I am fat, and I was like, Really? Do fat people run?” he posed.

While some may think lighter equals faster, sports science paints a different picture. Sprinters need powerful muscles to produce maximum force in minimal time, a factor called rate of force development. Losing too much muscle mass, or cutting weight, can actually reduce that power output and hurt acceleration.

“I am not under pressure to reduce my size. Before people knew me and talked about me, I was running fast times for this size. I cannot change what I have been doing because it has been working. We are getting to it; building strength a lot. We tried to reduce weight, but that affected me,” he said.

Strength-to-weight ratio matters more than overall weight. Omanyala’s compact, muscular frame allows him to apply tremendous force efficiently, critical for those explosive first 30 metres that often decide a race. And anyone who has closely followed his races will attest to his perfect starts.

“I have a very good start, but the 50m are completely out. I am a bit agile from the start. Now we want to get back to where I was,” he added.

Omanyala also celebrated the rise of African sprinting powerhouses, noting that the current wave of talent from the continent is no coincidence. The likes of Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Bayanda Walaza of South Africa are a testament to the growing wave of African sprinters.

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“South Africa and Botswana have had sprinters ever since. The program you see right now is something that has been built over the years. Most of them have looked up to me or Akani Simbine for inspiration. It is a force that is coming from the African continent. The Nigerians are also coming very well. I love it because the competition is getting tighter. That is a wake-up call for people like us,” he said.

The sensational sprinter has already started building up for the 2026 season after reuniting with his former coach, Duncan Ayiemba.