Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala carries Kenya’s hopes for first Olympic gold in 100 metres

Ferdinand Omanyala's status as Africa's fastest man has many people believing Kenya's push for Olympic gold medals isn't entirely a long-distance objective.

The Commonwealth Games 100-metre champion doesn't want to get ahead of himself, though, despite posting the second-fastest time this season of 9.79 seconds to qualify for Paris at the national Olympic trials.

“I won't say I am thinking of the final,” Omanyala said. “Of course it's at the back of my mind but the Olympics has heats, semis and the final so you can't start thinking about the final when you are not there yet — so many things happen.”

Among the sprinters from African countries who have qualified for the 100 in Paris, including Botswana's world championship silver medallist Letsile Tebogo and South Africa's Akani Simbine, Omanyala has run the fastest times.

His comeback from a doping ban imposed in 2017 to becoming the 9th-fastest man of all time has inspired Kenyans and has drawn more crowds to stadiums during national competitions.

His 9.77 personal best, a continental record set in September 2021 in Nairobi, united a nation in celebration and some Kenyans honoured him by naming new born babies after him.

His name and image have been emblazoned on some of the graffiti-covered private minibuses, known as matatus, that serve as the main source of public transportation.

So there's a lot of expectations for Omanyala to be the first man from an African nation to win the Olympic 100-meter title.

The ex-rugby winger has had to reject assertions from critics that he loses his nerve in major global events, owing to his failure to reach the final at the Tokyo Olympics or the podium at last year's world titles.

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