Ferdinand Omurwa

Career In 2015, Omanyala began his athletics career in Kenya as a chemistry student at the University of Nairobi.

Omanyala won the national title in the 100 metres in 2019.

On 30 March 2021, he set a national record of 10.01 seconds in the 100 m in winning a meeting at Yabatech Sport Complex in Lagos, Nigeria. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics 100 metres semi-final in August that year, he set a new national record of 10.00 seconds. Omanyala was 0.04 s behind eventual silver medalist Fred Kerley and 0.02 s behind eventual bronze medalist Andre De Grasse. The same month, he ran a new personal best of 9.86 seconds in Austria, becoming the first Kenyan ever to break the 10-second barrier. In September, he ran 9.77 seconds (+1.2 m/s) for a new African record at the Absa Kip Keino Classic held in Nairobi, Kenya coming in a close second place behind Trayvon Bromell, who ran a world-leading 9.76 s.

In June 2022, Omanyala became African 100 m champion before he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, in July, after arriving at the event only a couple of hours before his first round heat due to visa problems. In August, he claimed Kenya's first gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Kenyan to win gold in the 100-metre race in 60 years.

His run up to the 2024 Summer Olympics was promising, clocking 10.01 at the FBK Games in the Netherlands. Omanyala served as Kenya's flag bearer alongside Triza Atuka for the opening ceremony of the Paris games. He was disappointed to only record 10.08 seconds in the semi-finals.

Personal life Omanyala is married to Laventa Amutavi, and they have a son.

Achievements International competitions 1Time from the heats; Omanyala was replaced in the final.

National titles Kenyan Athletics Championships 100 metres: 2019, 2022 200 metres: 2022

Track records

As of 8 September 2024, Omanyala holds the following track records for 100 metres.

LocationTimeWindspeedm/sDateNotes Andorf 9.86 +0.6 14/08/2021 Gaborone 9.78 +2.3 29/04/2023 Germiston 9.98 –0.9 13/04/2022 Lahti 10.09 +1.8+0.6 19/08/2021 Saint Pierre 9.93 +4.5 09/06/2022 Track record shared withAkani Simbine (RSA) from the same race.