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Speedy Omanyala leads Kenyan gang in Botswana

 

A legion of Kenyan athletes led by Commonwealth and Africa 100 metres champion Ferdinand Omanyala have promised to bring down the Gaborone National Stadium as the Botswana Golden Grand Prix goes down on Saturday.


After a sub-10 seconds proved elusive in his two meetings in South Africa, Omanyala says that the warm weather in Gaborone provides a recipe for fast times.


Omanyala, who will later anchor “Team Imeta” in 4x100m relay, faces some of the world’s finest sprinters in the World Athletics Continental Gold Tour event.


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Omanyala, who is the fastest man in the pack with personal best 9.77 seconds, will take on world 100m and 4x100m silver medallist Marvin Bracy from the United States of America and world 4x100m champion Aaron Brown of Canada.


“Quality race it will be. It means more pressure hence fast times for me,” said Omanyala, who won Athletics South Africa (ASA) Grand Prix 1 and 2 in 10.12 and 10.05 in Pretoria and Johannesburg on April 12 and 19 respectively. “The conditions were chilly hence the slow times.”


Also to watch out for in the race that will go down at 4.23pm (Kenyan time) is home athlete world under-20 100m champion Letsile Tebogo and 2020 Tokyo and 2022 world 200m silver medallist Kenneth Bednarek.


Omanyala and Bracy, who has a career best 9.85, faced off last in the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States last year.


Omanyala finished fifth in 10.14, failing to advance while a second place in 9.93 was enough to secure Bracy a place in the final as Seville Oblique from Jamaica won in 9.90.


However, Bracy would lose the battle to fellow countryman Fred Kerley, clocking 9.88 against 9.86.


Tegogo, who holds the world under-20 record, has personal best 9.91, Brown has 9.86 while Bednarek 9.89.


Bracy is fresh from finishing eighth in 10.26 at LSU Alumni Gold in Baton Rouge, Los Angeles on Saturday while Brown’s last race was at Miramar Invitational where he settled third in wind assisted 9.97 on April 8.


Other Kenyans in the event are Commonwealth games 800m champion Mary Moraa, who will highlight the 400m battle and Naomi Korir will compete in women’s 800m.


Olympic 800m silver medallist Ferguson Rotich, Africa 1,500m champion Abel Kipsang and Cornelius Tuwei will compete in 800m with Wiseman Were battling in 400m hurdles.


Kenya aims to qualify the men’s 4 x100 metres and 4x 400m mixed relay teams for the World Athletics Championships from Gaborone.


Omanyala will team up with Samuel Imeta, Hesbon Ochieng and Steven Onyango in the 4x100m relay. Kenya, that is currently ranked 18th in the world is aiming to push their time to the top 16 that is the cut off for Budapest.


Moraa, Were, Naomi Chebet and Boniface Mweresa will fly the Kenyan flag in the 4x400m mixed relay.  BY DAILY NATION   

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