Ferdinand Omanyala explains why he does not emulate his competitors

ATHLETICS Ferdinand Omanyala explains why he does not emulate his competitors

Abigael Wafula 08:03 - 04.03.2024

Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has opened up on why he does not observe what his competitors like Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles are doing and learning from them.

Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala has opened up on why he does not look at what his competitors are doing.

During an interview with an American outlet, Citius Mag, Omanyala was asked whether he could try watching Christian Coleman (who has great starts) and learn from him but he was reluctant.

Africa’s fastest man explained that he could not copy the running style of his competitors since every athlete is built differently.

Follow the Pulse Sports Kenya WhatsApp Channel for more news.

“No, you just have to be yourself and I mean, I can’t run like my competitors…everyone has his style and you can’t be copying everyone’s running style.

“For me, I believe I’m up there with them and so, it’s just about who is going to be fast and relaxed when it gets to the pressure moments.

"It’s been great working under my new coach and I’ve done some things that I’ve never done before. I also puked in training for the first time and we have been putting in the work and my body has been feeling great,” Omanyala said.

Meanwhile, after making his debut in the indoor races in 2022, Omanyala did not look back as he has since been a frequent competitor in indoor races.

“Since 2022 I’ve been running indoors and performing well in the outdoors. For me, I’ll be taking in the indoors as a preparation for the outdoors.

“With my current coach, we are doing that and in the indoor season, my coach wants me to become the fastest man in the 30m and in the outdoor we should be fast at our top end speed.

“That’s what we have been doing and it’s a process and so, we shall be doing indoors and it’s had a very positive impact,” Omanyala said.