Kenyan sprinter and Commonwealth champion Ferdinand Omanyala has his eyes set on a 100-metre time of 9.6 seconds this season.
The 27-year-old aims to achieve this target before the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August and get closer to Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58 seconds.
Omanyala, Africa’s fastest man, broke the African men’s 100m record in Nairobi in September 2021 with a time of 9.77 seconds.
He intends to begin his record attempt in South Africa early next month, where he will compete in three meetings beginning on April 12 in Pretoria.
Omanyala will be joined by his two new training partners, Henricho Bruintjies of South Africa and Sharry Dodin of Seychelles. He believes he can achieve his ambitious target after clocking 9.94, 9.86, and 9.81 seconds at the Kenyan track and field meeting in February.
“I started the season well with three fast times. I am confident I will run a 9.6 seconds before the world championships,” said Omanyala. “I intend to achieve the target either in South Africa, at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on May 13, or in Budapest, to atone for the disappointment of missing a medal at the last world championships in Eugene, Oregon.”
Omanyala was unable to compete at the last world championships in Eugene, Oregon, due to a delay in securing a US visa. He had great hopes for the event but only arrived hours before his first heat.
Jamaican star Bolt set the world record of 9.58 seconds at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, and only two men have come close to that, Yohan Blake and Tyson Gay have both run 9.69.
In May 2022, Omanyala defeated American Fred Kerley, the current world 100m champion and Olympic silver medalist, with a time of 9.85 seconds at the Nairobi Kip Keino Classic. In February, Omanyala set a new Kenyan record over 60m indoors in France, beating Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy into second place.
