NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 18 – Kenya’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala lived up to his expectations, smashing the men’s 100m National Record in the show-stopper event at the second edition of the Kip Keino Classic Tour held at Kasarani Stadium on Saturday.
Omanyala, who has now broken his National Record for the umpteenth time set his new Personal Best time of 9:76 Seconds and stun 100m big wigs like former World Champion Justin Gatlin.
The 2004 Olympic champion Gatlin put retirement on hold despite having to settle for third in Saturday’s season-closing 100m at the World Athletics continental tour meet in Nairobi.
The 39-year-old American, who has twice been banned for doping, failed to qualify for this year’s Tokyo Games and was hoping to make amends in Kenya.
But he could not match fellow American Trayvon Bromell and the new Kenyan sprint sensation Omanyala in the finish.
“I came from an injury with the hope of getting a win here,” said Gatlin, adding he will take a long break to decide his future.
“Hopefully let’s wait and see what’s in store for the new season,” he added when asked if he planned to hang up his spikes.
Bromell, who already had the world’s fastest 100m in the bag this year, bettered his own mark with a 9.76 while Omanyala returned 9.77, the time Bromell had run in April.
For many of the athletes competing, Nairobi was a climax to a long drawn out season which included the Olympics and the Diamond League after numerous events were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The race was won by Bromell Trayvon of the United States in a time of 9:75.