Omanyala fizzled out to finish a disappointing seventh as Botswana’s wonder kid Letsile Tebogo made history.
All eyes were on Commonwealth Games champion Ferdinand Omanyala during Sunday night’s 100m men’s final at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary but the sprint sensation failed to live up to the billing.
Omanyala fizzled out to finish a disappointing seventh as Botswana’s wonder kid Letsile Tebogo made history. World 200m champion Noah Lyles reigned supreme in the race as Tebogo finished second. Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes completed the podium in the hotly contested race.
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During the final of the 100m on Sunday night, Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala faded to finish seventh.
Omanyala disclosed that he just wanted to run and make the race a moment to be remembered over the years but unfortunately, things did not go as planned. He added that his body did not corporate from the semifinals and going into the final, things became more difficult.
“I would have done better. But I don’t dwell on the past…it’s gone and we can’t go back in time and change anything. I want to focus and move on.
My body wasn't just firing from the semifinal as it did in the heats. We just have to go back and see what happened and see where to correct and see what to do best next time,” Omanyala said.
Citing his performance at last year’s World Championships in Oregon, USA where he did not make the final, this comes as progress to Omanyala but he performed below expectation and disappointed many legends who were banking on him including retired athlete Michael Johnson.
05:32 - 21.08.2023
ATHLETICS Fred Kerley full of hope despite missing out on World Championships 100m final
Kerley had started off on a quite wanting note in the Heats where he finished second.
He insisted that the short time between the semifinal and the final had nothing to do with it. He is also aware that his fans are disappointed in him and he promised to do better next time.
The 27-year-old had finished third in the semifinal and was awaiting final judgment to know whether he was eligible to compete in the final which was just a few minutes away.
21:58 - 20.08.2023
ATHLETICS Poor Omanyala finishes 7th as Daniel Simiu bags Kenya's first medal
Omanyala let Noah Lyles win their heat on Saturday but on Sunday the beastly American was on a different level.
“I don’t think so…it was the toughest short time because I never knew I could get to the final. But we did what we had to do.
"I know many Kenyans are disappointed with the results but there's no way we are going back in time...we just have to accept what happened and do better next time,” he said.
21:00 - 19.08.2023
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Omanyala, who was in Heat Two, put up a good fight starting out from the blocks in a steady way and comfortably raced to the finish line and clocked 9.97.
He added that he still wants to motivate young kids about sprinting and that they can make a living out of that.
“I just want to keep encouraging young sprinters that anything is possible,” he said.