Omanyala smashes meeting record, sets new 60m NR in first international test
3rd February 2024
The Miramas meeting was Omanyala's first international race this year.
- Omanyala clocked 6.52 seconds in his 60-metre final to smash the Miramas meeting record that stood at 6.57s.
- He also set a new national record in the process having outdone the 6.54s he managed back in 2023.
- The returning Mark Otieno and Tyson Juma failed to make it past their heat.
Competing in his first international race in 2024, Kenya’s
sprinting ace Ferdinand Omanyala wasted little time in laying a maker of intent
for the upcoming season as he smashed the meeting record at the Elite Indoor
Track Miramas Meeting on Friday in France.
Having breezed through his Heat 2, the African 100m record holder
left the other opponents in his wake as he clocked 6.52 seconds in his 60-metre
final to smash the meeting record that stood at 6.57s.
So good was Omanyala that he also set a new national record
in the process having outdone the 6.54s he managed back in 2023 at the Meeting
Lievin Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais where he stunned reigning Olympic champion
Marcell Lamont Jacobs.
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In the race, the reigning Commonwealth champion created
daylight between him and Cameroon’s Eseme Emannuel, who also set a new national
record after finishing in second place as he clocked 6.61s with Arthur Cisse coming
third with 6.62s.
The Friends School Kamusinga alumni took part in his first
race outside the country after gracing a couple of events organized by the
Athletics Kenya including last weekend's third track and field meet, where he
gauged his speed in the 200m race.
He had earlier attended another race which was staged at the
Ulinzi Sports Complex and took part in the 400m race to test his endurance.
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After Miramas, the powerful runner is expected to feature at
the Meeting Indoor de Paris on February 11 where he is expected to defend the
title he won in 2023 after clocking 6.56s.
At the
beginning of March, Omanyala will travel to Glasgow, Scotland for the eagerly
anticipated World Indoor Games that will run between March 1 and March 3.
Besides the
individual races, the athlete, who changed his coach late last year is expected
to represent Kenya in the upcoming 2024 World Athletics relays championship
which will take place in Nassau, Bahamas in May.
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Omanyala
recently stated that he will do his best to help Kenya post good results in the
event which will be used as a qualifier for the Paris Olympic Games.
Elsewhere, Mark Otieno who is returning from a doping suspension,
failed to make it to the final after finishing fifth in Heat 4 with a 6.78s run.
The same case applied to Tyson Juma who set a new personal best despite failing to make the final as he clocked 6.85s.