Omanyala blazes to a new world-leading time as Samuel Imeta goes sub-10s

Samuel Imeta and Ferdinand Omanyala at an athletics meet in Kenya

ATHLETICS Omanyala blazes to a new world-leading time as Samuel Imeta goes sub-10s

Funmilayo Fameso 17:50 - 25.02.2023

Kenya Athletics is brewing new set of sprinters as Smuel Imeta joins Ferdinand Omanyala in the league of sub-10s runners.

Athletics Kenya can now boast of not just one but two world-class 100m runners, as Samuel Imeta almost claimed a shocking victory over Ferdinand Omanyala at the AK Weekend Meet at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday.

Omanyala, who ran a world-leading time of 9.85s to win his qualifying heat on Friday, lowered this time to another blazing 9.81s in the final.

These times are the fastest in history at this time of the year, making him one of the favourites to challenge for the 100m world title in Budapest come August.

However, the surprise of the meet was Imeta, who pushed Omanyala through to the finish line, sadly settling for second clocking a massive Personal Best (PB) of 9.94s.

Imeta's previous PB was 10.12s, which he clocked at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, so dropping it by this huge margin is a surprise to many.

Samuel Imeta is Kenya's second sprinter in history to run a sub-10s time

He is now the second Kenyan in history to gone under the 10s mark in the 100m, behind Omanyala. They also currently occupy the top two positions on the 2023 world list.

Omanyala has promised he can go faster than his African Record (AR)  of 9.77s this season, and has his goals of winning the World and Diamond League titles.

With Imeta now in the picture, their competitors should be on alert as these are indeed exciting days for the men's 100m event. His performance also shows Kenya may be brewing some brilliant sprinters in the 100m event.

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