NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 3 – Ferdinand Omanyala promised and he has delivered. The 26-year-old has become the first ever Kenyan in 60 years to win the Commonwealth Games 100m title after blistering through the final on Wednesday night.
Seraphino Antao was the first and only Kenyan to win the 100m sprint at the Club games in 1962, when the race was 100 yards (Approx 91.44m)
Omanyala powered home in a time of 10.02secs to clinch his first ever global title after reaching the semis in his previous three attempts.
The Kenyan put daylight between himself and defending champion Akani Simbine who timed 10.13secs to clinch silver while Sri Lankan Yupun Abeykoon settled for bronze in 10.14secs.
Africa’s fastest man was clean on the take off, taking charge of the race from the gun and with his traditional burst in the final 50m, there was no stopping him from the gold.
Omanyala has now clinched a medal in his first ever final, having missed out at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indoor Championships and the World Championships last month, where he reached the semis in all.
The Commonwealth gold is a massive reward for him especially after the woes that befell him prior to the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he arrived just three hours to his race.
The massive fatigue he had to endure saw him fail to get to the final, but has now underlined his status as the best sprinter in Africa at the moment.
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