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Kenya's track star, Ferdinand Omanyala has got big goals for the 2023 season, which includes winning the World and Diamond League titles.
Africa's fastest man and record holder, Ferdinand Omanyala, has set his sights on winning the 100m World title in Budapest this year, the Diamond League title, and breaking his African Record (AR) of 9.77s.
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The Kenyan said this in an interview with Kenya's Daily Star. "I am looking forward to another successful season. This year, I want to accomplish three primary things. My sights are set on winning the World Championships, the Diamond League, and smashing the African Record."
Omanyala became a world-renowned sprinter two years ago. Since then, he has won the 2021 African title in Mauritius, and the 2021 Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham - becoming the first Kenyan to attain such a feat in sixty years.
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He also smashed the AR of 9.85s set by Nigeria's Olusoji Fasuba, with a new 9.77s at the Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani, Nairobi.
At the World Championships in Oregon last year, Omanyala couldn't perform to his best after he had visa delay problems and only arrived a few hours before his qualifying heat race. Though he qualified for the semifinals, however, he failed to make it to the final.
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The 27-year-old began his 2023 indoor season on a record-breaking note, as he clocked a Personal Best (PB) of 6.66s in his first 60m race of the year.
"My strength is in the last 50m, so I want to use the indoor meets to work on the first half of the stretch," he added.
"So far, I have been running fast times in training and my top-end speed has definitely increased. I'm happy to say my race has really improved on both ends. I am currently running faster than I did in June and July of last year, which indicates significant improvement, " he continued.
"I can polish up my block starts in France, because the 60m is all about the dash speed. I am looking forward to a great season. It will be a perfect platform for training because the facilities in France are definitely great, and I have access to so much," Omanyala concluded.
The speedster backed up his words in France on Wednesday, racing to a new Kenyan Record (KR) of 6.55s to win the men's 60m final, which places him joint second alongside Nigeria's youngster, Favour Ashe, on Africa's 2023 top list.
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If he attains his goals of winning a World and Diamond League titles, he will become the first African in history to accomplish such feat.
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