BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom, Aug 4 – He likes making history! does he? Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala is now motivated to go one better and bag a world title next year.
This is after the powerful self confident Omanyala brought the fully packed Alexander Stadium to a standstill, silencing defending champion Akani Simbine of South Africa to not only win a first gold for Kenya at the 2022 Club Games in Birmingham, but also a maiden for his country since it started participating in the games.
An elated Omanyala extolled his track antics in Birmingham and here’s what he had to say after the epic final.
“I know it will sink in after some days, but it feels nice to lay my hands on this coveted crown and I am happy about it. My aim is to pave the way for many Kenyan sprinters and I know that I will inspire countless others to embrace the sprints,” the Kenyan record holder said.
“They just needed someone to break the barriers, and I am sure many more talented Kenyans will now come out strongly to prove their mettle to the world.”
Omanyala went on to explain that his Oregon woes made him even stronger and hungrier for medals.
The Kenyan speedster has tipped fellow 100m athlete Samuel Imeti to blossom in the sprint specialty.
“Imeti had a good run yesterday. He has potential but then again, it will boil down to training and I am going to hold his hand to the very end. He will be good to go.”
“We’ve been working on this since the beginning of the year- thanks to my team, the gold has come to fruition. It’s no longer a dream but a reality,” he narrated.
Omanyala says his win goes to show that running is a world of possibilities and that anyone can win the titles.
“This is a big motivation towards the 2024 Paris Olympics and next year’s World Championships. I am now going for the 4 X 100n relay gold.”
“About the Worlds, I forgot almost immediately. In life its always just about moving forward and using those setbacks as stepping stones and just moving forward and focusing on the next one.”
“The gold already has a lot of impact as I am the reigning Commonwealth and Africa champion, so this is a very big motivation.”
–Good Humored Banter–
Prior to the momentous final, Omanyala bantered about how he would silence the 2018 Golf Coast Champion Simbine whom he had beaten at the Africa Championships in Mauritius.
“He (Simbine) has never beaten me since I started racing, so it wasn’t going to be the first time. I left him at the start and that’s what I wanted- to be in front from the start to the finish. I never just wanted to push and chase someone. It was a great race from the word go.”
-Alex Isaboke is reporting from Birmingham, United Kingdom-
