Kenya: Omanyala Dreamas of a Commonwealth Gold but Admits Work Is Cut Out for the Worlds

Nairobi — African champion and record holder Ferdinand Omanyala has said he dreams of clinching gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham next month, but has admitted he will face a daunting task at the World Championships which will precede in Oregon, United States.

The Kenyan sprint sensation will double at the two events and says he is set to work harder on ensuring a smoother speed transition in the second half of his race as he eyes a first global title.

"For the Commonwealth Games for sure I am going for the Gold medal and I will work hard to achieve that. I know it is tougher for the Worlds because definitely the field there is very competitive but my first target is to get to the final," Omanyala told Capital Sport.

The 26-year old says he knows the home sprinters will want to prove their worth at their own backyard especially with the US trials over the weekend having flamed up with all eight finalists running sub-10 times.

Fred Kerley who won the trials clocked 9.77secs, having timed a World Lead of 9.76secs in the semis. Despite having beaten him at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi in May, he knows it will not be easy.

"The boys are running super fast times and I know things will be tough at the World Championships. But the goal is to get to the final and then anything can happen. I am someone who does well under pressure and so I will be ready for it," he said.

Omanyala adds; "The focus since last month has just been on the Worlds and Commonwealth Games and that is why we cancelled every other competition just to focus on this. I want to work hard to be ready."

"I will be doing more of speed work and my movement off the blocks. I also want to ensure that I have a smoother transition after the halfway mark because if I can kill a few microseconds in there, I know I will be able to post a good time."

The sprinter has a season's best time of 9.85secs set at the Kip Keino Classic and has only lost one race in Germany in the 100m this year.

This article originally appeared in Capital FM

Photo: Raymond Makhaya