NAIROBI, Kenya, July 16, 2025 – Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has cast doubt on whether he will compete at next week’s national trials for the World Championships at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.
The Commonwealth Games 100m champion said he would be out of the country over weekend, raising doubts whether he’ll be back in the country in time for the one-day competition.
“I won’t be at the trials next Tuesday, as I’ll be travelling over the weekend,” Omanyala said.
The 2022 African champion was due to square it out in the men’s 100m with other top sprinters in the country, including former national record holder Mark Otieno, Meshack Babu, Dennis Mwai and Hesbon Ochieng.
Omanyala has already secured a ticket to the global competition in September, having reached the semi-finals of the men’s 100m at the Paris Olympics in August last year.
He was also part of the men’s 4x100m relay team that punched their ticket at May’s World Relays where they set a national record of 38.51 seconds to finish second behind Belgium in their heat.
Other members of the team include Babu, Boniface Mweresa and Stephen Odhiambo.
On the individual front, Omanyala has been a busy man on the Diamond League circuit as well as on the local front.
His last race was at the National Championships at the end of last month where he clocked 10.08 to win the men’s 100m and successfully defend his title.
Internationally, the Kitale-born was at the Rome Diamond League on June 6 where he clocked 10.01 to finish third.
Tokyo will be his third ever World Championships appearance after Oregon (2022) and Budapest (2023).
