Omanyala confident ahead of gold mining mission in Rabat Diamond League Meeting

ATHLETICS Omanyala confident ahead of gold mining mission in Rabat Diamond League Meeting

Abigael Wafula 14:42 - 27.05.2023

He will face an acid test from Fred Kerley, Letsile Tebogo, and Trayvon Bromell.

Africa 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala is ready to face off against some of the world’s greatest sprinters in the Diamond League Meeting in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday, May 28.

Omanyala, 27, is bubbling with confidence and he bullishly believes he will reign supreme and repeat his dominant exploits as he sets foot on the track.

He will face an acid test from reigning world champion Fred Kerley, world under-20 champion Letsile Tebogo and the world bronze medallist Trayvon Bromell. The race has also attracted arch-rival Akani Simbine and Yohan Blake.

However, he is not shaken by the deep fields as he believes he has all it takes to pull the stadium to a standstill.

“When I get to a competition…I don’t care who’s on my left or right. My focus is only on that finish line because I can race anybody. I am focused on running fast and executing my race well.

"Above all, I want to have fun because we are only here for a short time. No pressure but we are winning this…there’s no doubt,” bullish Omanyala said during a pre-race press conference.

The Commonwealth Games champion is aware of the stern competition and he is sure fast times will be posted and records might be broken.

He added that it feels great to be back in the Diamond League since 2021 where he only competed in the Brussels Meeting and finished fourth.

“It feels great to compete in the Diamond Leagues since this is one of the highest-ranked competitions.

"This gives me the hype to run faster. Africa is my home and I know we are going to run well. The caliber of the competition is top-notch,” he added.

Going forward, Omanyala has promised to deliver the World Championships gold medal and he is keen to use the Diamond League Meetings as a build-up towards the same.

“I am going for a win at the World Championships in Budapest and I have had a great season so far…I just want to maintain that for the next two months. I am not losing any 100m race and the World Championships will not be an exception,” he said.

Omanyala opened his season with a successful indoor tour in France where he won three of the four 60m races he competed in.

He then started his outdoor season with a dominant win at the second Athletics Kenya meet before silencing other bigwigs in his two races in South Africa, the ASA Grand Prixes. He then went to the Botswana Golden Grand Prix where he secured a dominant victory.

His recent victory was during the Kip Keino Classic staged at the Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani where he ran a world lead of 9.84.

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