Ferdinand Omanyala: Why Africa’s Fastest Man Believes More Muscle Will Make Him Faster in 2026

Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, has explained why he is not heeding Michael Johnson’s advice as he looks to bounce back stronger in 2026.

Ferdinand Omanyala’s weight has been a topic of discussion, and four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, despite acknowledging that his physique is great, questioned whether it comes with disadvantages.

In a post on his X (Twitter) handle, Michael Johnson had tipped Ferdinand Omanyala to win a medal in the men’s 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

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“Said it before. I believe Omanyala will be the first African to win a 100m World Champs medal. His muscular structure provides tremendous power, but do any coaches or sport science experts out there think it could become a limiting factor in his ability to sprint efficiently?” Michael Johnson wrote.

Ferdinand Omanyala went ahead to finish a distant seventh in the final, as Noah Lyles claimed top honours. Letsile Tebogo and Zharnel Hughes finished second and third in the race.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion, Ferdinand Omanyala, has reunited with his former coach Duncan Ayiemba in a bid to recapture the form that once made him a dominant force.

Under his previous coach, Geoffrey Mwaniki, Ferdinand Omanyala had been training intensively to shed weight, but that approach has since changed.

He now admits that the weight loss negatively impacted his finishing power, which has cost him in several races, even though he still considers his starts to be strong.

“Before they knew me, and before they started talking about me, I was running fast times with that weight and with that size,” Ferdinand Omanyala said in an interview on Homeboyz Radio.

“I can’t change what I’ve been doing, and it’s been working, so we are actually getting back to it and building it down strength and doing that a lot.

“We tried to reduce, and that affected me. My last 50m of the race is completely out, but I have a very good start. Now, we want to get back to where I was.”

Ferdinand Omanyala noted that while cameras often make him appear bulkier, he is not as big as he looks on screen.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion insisted that his physique is well-suited for sprinting, emphasising that the sport is deeply rooted in physics.

Ferdinand Omanyala added that he relies heavily on his body weight for propulsion and has no intention of altering his build to fit public perception.

“I’m not big…I look big on screens, but literally, I’m not big. One thing that most people don’t understand is that sprinting is physics. The harder you hit the ground, the harder that ground gives you that force back,” Ferdinand Omanyala added.

“You need the strength, and other sprinters have the strength and don’t bulk up. But there are these types of sprinters who come from Western Kenya like me.

“Once you hit the gym, you become a big sprinter like me, not really big, you become ripped, and some guys don’t understand that. There is a girl who told me I’m fat, and I asked myself if fat people run.”

As he charts his path toward 2026, Ferdinand Omanyala remains firm in his belief that his natural build is not a weakness but a weapon.

While legends like Michael Johnson may question whether his muscular frame could hold him back, Ferdinand Omanyala is convinced that his power, strength, and unique physique are what make him stand out on the track.