Omanyala looking to upset Fred Kerley despite successive defeats

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ATHLETICS Omanyala looking to upset Fred Kerley despite successive defeats

Festus Chuma 14:37 - 03.06.2023

He will be hoping for a much-improved performance in Paris Diamond League.

Despite a disappointing outcome in the Florence Diamond League Meeting on Friday night, Commonwealth Games 100m champion Ferdinand Omanyala has promised a comeback. 

Omanyala, who boasts a world-leading time of 9.77 seconds over the distance, finished second behind world champion Fred Kerley.

Showing a characteristic for which he has become well known for, Omanyala vowed to return stronger in the next meetings.

“It was a good race and I cannot complain about anything. I just need to go and check what I need to correct. I also cannot complain about anything today - the food, the conditions so we build up from there,” he said.

Omanyala clocked 10.05 seconds to finish behind Kerley, who won with 9.94 seconds, an improvement from the third-place finish in the recent Rabat Meeting.

“Of course, Fred is the number one today but the fight is still on. Diamond League is a big platform so I am happy about my performance and placement today. I am going to Paris afterwards and I trained in Italy so it felt like my second home today,” he added.

Kerley has managed to stamp his authority, winning the world title, and has since enjoyed superb form, having run the second-fastest time of 9.88 in late May in Japan.

Omanyala had predicted that he would not lose another race this year before his third-ever participation in the prestigious competition in Rabat since his debut at the Brussels Diamond League in 2021.

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