'I will be the next world champion' - bullish Omanyala says after Monaco win

ATHLETICS 'I will be the next world champion' - bullish Omanyala says after Monaco win

Abigael Wafula 08:29 - 22.07.2023

Omanyala secured his first win in the Diamond League after narrowly defeating Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala is bullish about being the next world champion after a successful outing at the Diamond League Meeting in Monaco on Friday. 

Omanyala secured his first win in the Diamond League after narrowly defeating Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo. He won in 9.92 as Tebogo finished second in 9.93. Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake sealed the podium in 10.00.

With the feat, Omanyala now believes that the world title is very close and he revealed that he will bag it when he heads to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary next month.

I will be the next world champion. There are no doubts about it. I am ready to do it. Tonight, I just confirmed what I am capable of," said Omanyala. 

"I would not call it a perfect race but I am ready. It was a blessing to win here. I wanted a faster time but a win is a win."

Omanyala noted that he will work on his starts to ensure he gets out of the blocks in a good time since that almost cost him in Monaco. With that, he is confident that everything will be on course.

The start was not a perfect one but we need to make sure we will correct that,” he added. 

The 27-year-old started his Diamond League campaign in Rabat, Morocco where he finished third. The loss was his first of the season as he was defeated by world champion Fred Kerley and South Africa’s Akani Simbine.

He then proceeded to meetings in Florence, Italy, and Paris, France where he finished second in both. In Italy, he was yet again defeated by Kerley while in France, he was defeated by world 200m champion Noah Lyles.