Omanyala tops 100m standings after five Diamond League Meetings

ATHLETICS Omanyala tops 100m standings after five Diamond League Meetings

Abigael Wafula 09:08 - 17.06.2023

Africa’s fastest man is leading the race for the Ksh4m Diamond League Trophy that will be awarded to the winner at the end of the season

After five Diamond League Meetings, Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala is topping the list of the 100m with the most earned points.

He tops the list with 20 points ahead of world champion Fred Kerley who has 16 so far. South Africa’s Akani Simbine seals the podium having garnered 12 points.

If Omanyala maintains the consistency, he will make it to the final of the Diamond League, the Prefontaine Classic, scheduled for September 17 and 18 in the USA where the winner of the Diamond League Trophy will walk home with a bonus of $30,000 (Ksh4.2 million). This will mark the first time he makes it to the final of the event.

The Commonwealth Games champion opened his Diamond League campaign at the Meeting in Rabat, Morocco where he finished third behind Kerley and Simbine. He clocked 10.05 to cross the finish line.

He then proceeded to the Meeting in Florence, Italy, where he finished second behind Kerley. Omanyala clocked 10.05 to cross the finish line.

At the Diamond League Meeting in Paris, France, he pushed hard and managed a second-place finish behind world 200m champion Noah Lyles. Lyles clocked 9.97 as Omanyala followed closely in 9.98.

He revealed that he will now take a break from the meetings and train from home as he prepares for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where he intends to make history by becoming the first African to win 100m medal at the Worlds. His next assignment is the National Championship scheduled for June 22-24.

The 27-year-old has been in impeccable form since the start of the season where he has managed to finish all his races on the podium. He is also the fastest man in the world at the moment with a world-leading time of 9.84.

Meanwhile, the men’s 800m also has Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal leading the standings with 17 points ahead of former world Under-20 champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi who has 16 points.

The 3,000m/5,000m, 3000m Steeplechase, and 1,500m have no Kenyan in the podium bracket.