Ferdinand Omanyala, Africa’s fastest man, has expressed his ambition to challenge Usain Bolt’s 100m world record, emphasizing that with the right timing, anything is achievable.
Bolt’s record of 9.58 seconds was set during the 2009 World Athletics Championships final in Berlin, Germany, on August 16.
Reflecting on his career, Omanyala noted that breaking the African record once seemed insurmountable. However, he now holds that record, having achieved an impressive time of 9.77 seconds at the 2021 Kip Keino Classic.
This accomplishment has fueled his confidence and determination to aim for the world record.
“When we started running the African record was far off and nobody thought that it could be broken but we broke it twice…that’s the same thing I’ll say with the world record, it’s not something that’s impossible, so we’ll get there,” Omanyala said.
Ferdinand Omanyala also expressed pride in showcasing the potential of Kenyan athletes in sprinting. His rise has sparked significant improvement in sprints within Kenya, inspiring many Kenyans to take up the discipline.
Among the emerging talents is Omanyala’s younger brother, Isaac Omurwa, who is making waves in the sprinting world alongside numerous other young athletes.
“I think I have a woken a sleeping giant because we have the talent and we have guys who are running very fast. We play rugby so well and I’m sure in the next five years, it will be incomparable.
“There are a lot of guys running 10.20 and 10.30 right now so we just need to give them the proper motivation and the proper skills to jump to the next level.
“I have seen people running fast and talk big and I’ve had the experience of running 9.80 in March, I’ve had the experience of running 9.7 in April, so I know how that feels. I don’t want that anymore, I want to run fast when it matters,” Omanyala added.
