Ferdinand Omanyala eliminated from 200m race at Africa Senior Athletics Championships

On Saturday, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala was eliminated from the 200m race at the ongoing Senior Africa Athletics Championships in Reduit, Mauritius.

Omanyala who already has two gold medals was gunning for a third after entering the 200m race.

However, the athlete finished third in heat seven, falling short of the qualification to advance to the next stage.

After winning the 100m gold, Omanyala wanted to mark his entry into the 200m category with another gold but unfortunately that was not to be.

"We have equaled the championship record of 9.94 and I am happy to have finally won gold. Now we shift focus to the 200m in which I will be running on Saturday. From here henceforth, it is just to enjoy the experience...to have fun," Omanyala said on Friday.

Omanyala is known for his impressive performance in the 100m races, holding the record as the fastest African man.

His performance in the 200m now leaves him contemplating whether or not to stick to the 100m races.

“Let me see what my team says because it is different and I am new to this so I’m taking it as it comes,” the sprinter said after the race.

This comes just a day after Omanyala led Kenya’s 4x100m relay team to clinch the country’s first gold medal in the relay race in 32 years.

Omanyala was joined in the history achievement by Mike Mokamba, Samuel Imeta, and Dan Kiviasi.

From left: Kenya's 4*100m relay team Samuel Imeta, Dan Kiviasi, Ferdinand Omanyala and Mike Mokamba that won gold at the Africa Senior Athletics Championships at Cote d’Or National Sports Complex in Reduit, Mauritius on June 10, 2022. Pulse Live Kenya

The Kenyan quartet crossed the finish line at a time of 39.28, 59 microseconds faster than the South African quartet of Cheswill Johnson, Benjamin Richardson, Antonio Alkana and Henricho Bruintjies with the Zimbabwe quartet claiming the third spot at a time of 39.81.

After the race, Africa's fastest man Omanyala expressed joy, congratulating his teammates for flying the Kenyan flag high.

"Things are changing now. The world should get used to seeing more sprinters from Kenya. Now we have a strong relay team and soon we will be on the world stage," Omanyala said