Bullish Omanyala buoyant that he can break Usain Bolt’s world record
Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala is buoyant that he can break the world record of 9.58 currently held by Jamaican legend Usain Bolt.
The fastest man in Africa believes that time is ripe for him to set a new world record after setting a time of 9.77 at this year’s Kip Keino Classic in Kasarani Stadium.
In an interview with a local radio station, Omanyala said his aim come next season is to break the world record.
“This year has been a success for me given having achieved my goal of breaking the African record. I will now shift my focus to attempting to break the world record," Omanyala said.
Omanyala who recently joined the National Police Service after a heroic 2021 season, further said that the motivation he draws from American greats like Justin Gatlin and Trayvon Bromell makes him believe that he can achieve his target.
"Competing against world greatest like Americans Trayvon Bromell and Justin Gatlin wasn’t easy, and they always encouraged me and I believe I can break Bolt's record,” Omanyala said.
The 25-year-old athlete, also a second-year Bachelor of Science student at the University of Nairobi, became a household name after his heroics in Lagos, Nigeria where he clocked 10.01 seconds on 30th March 2021 at an athletic event dubbed the 'Making of Champions (MOC) Grand Prix'.
Omanyala went on to finish third in the Olympics semi-finals in 10.01 seconds before going on to surpass the 10 seconds mark at the International Josko Laufmeeting, Andorf Austria 2021 with a personal best of 9.86 seconds.
The rugby-player-turned-sprinter went on to clock an impressive African best time of 9.77 seconds, breaking the 9.85s record by South African sprinter Akuni Sembine at the Kip-Keino Classics held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on September 18, 2021.
His heroics at the Kip-Keino classic elevated Omanyala to the fastest African man and the 8th fastest of all time in the 100-metre event globally.
