Ferdinand Omanyala among the best sprinters globally despite underwhelming season
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Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 21.09.25. | 09:49
Most recently, Oblique Seville confirmed his arrival among the greats with a 9.77 at the Tokyo World Championships.
Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, may not have enjoyed the kind of season he hoped for in 2025, but his place among the world’s sprinting elite remains unquestionable.
The Kenyan is one of only 11 men in history to clock 9.78 seconds or faster over 100m. His 9.77-second run in Nairobi in 2021 remains a notable continental record and proof of Kenya’s standing on the global sprinting map.
The 2025 campaign has been a mixed one for Omanyala. He opened strongly with victory at the Athletics Kenya meet in Thika before heading to South Africa, where he placed third at the ASA Grand Prix I in 10.22 seconds and then responded with a winning 10.08 in the second leg.
His form carried into the Uganda National Trials, where he stormed to a 10.02 finish in the 100m and anchored Kenya to a memorable 4×100m relay triumph.
At the Botswana Grand Prix, Omanyala ran 10.00 for second place, tantalisingly close to the elusive sub-10 barrier he has chased all year.
His Diamond League season had flashes of brilliance and challenges. He finished second in Xiamen (10.13), seventh in Shanghai (10.25), and third in Rome (10.01).
At the Gyulai István Memorial, he managed 10.26 for eighth, and in Brussels, his struggles deepened with a seventh-place finish in 10.49.
At the World Relays in Guangzhou, he helped Kenya qualify for the 4×100m relay at the World Championships for the first time in decades.
He also ventured into new ground at the Atlanta City Games, setting both Kenyan and African records in the rarely contested 150m with a searing 14.70-second dash.
Back home at the National Athletics Trials, he won the 100m in 10.08 before settling for silver in the 200m behind Zablon Ekwam.
Globally, Omanyala remains part of an exclusive sprinting fraternity.
Usain Bolt’s 9.58 world record from the 2009 World Championships in Berlin still sets the standard.
American Tyson Gay and Jamaica’s Yohan Blake share 9.69 as the next fastest times in history, while Asafa Powell’s 9.72 in 2008 stands as a reminder of his consistency.
Nesta Carter’s 9.78 in 2010 and Justin Gatlin’s 9.74 in 2015 etched their names in sprinting folklore.
The modern generation has added fresh firepower. Christian Coleman’s 9.76 in Doha in 2019, Trayvon Bromell’s 9.76 in Nairobi in 2021, and Fred Kerley’s 9.76 in Eugene in 2022 have kept the American tradition alive.
Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson stormed into the spotlight with a 9.75 at the 2025 national championships, positioning himself as a possible heir to Bolt’s crown.
Most recently, Oblique Seville confirmed his arrival among the greats with a 9.77 at the Tokyo World Championships.
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