Confident Ferdinand Omanyala leaves for Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Ferdinand Omanyala, the country’s fastest 100m sprinter leaves the country tonight for a Euro trip as he has three races before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics set for next month. He will race on July 31^st and August 1^st, 2021.

Omanyala who broke the record by sprinting at 10.02 seconds in the pre-trials gave an exclusive interview to the University’s Corporate Affairs office.

He is a 3^rd born in a family of five boys from Kitale. He is a father of one and a 2^nd year Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the College of Biological and Physical Sciences.  Omanyala says that his father used to run.

When asked how he started his athletic career, Omanyala said that “I noticed I was a fast runner when I was playing rugby both in High School and the University’s mean machine. I then started training in 2015.”

“My very first event was in Mumias, UoN sports office paid for the trip and I won my first race. This gave me the motivation to go on training even harder.

The highlight of 2016 was when I raced in Kipchoge Keino stadium and I broke the record. I was a newbie and yet I beat the athletic veterans like Mark Otieno.

In 2017, I went for the World Relays in the Bahamas representing Kenya. We reached the finals and we were no.7. We went to World Games Universiade in Taiwan and I didn’t compete because I had severe backache."

Ferdinand set the record straight on the ban, “It was at this time that I was prescribed for painkillers that had steroids and I did not declare. I forgot the name of the drug.”

In August 2017, I was banned for 14 months because of that. There was an out-of-court settlement and I was reinstated in November 2018.

I took my time out training since I was all alone and away from the limelight.

In the 2019 season, I made the Olympics team twice but I was not picked because of the ban.

In 2020, due to covid, a lot of the events were canceled even the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I trained for 6 months thoroughly at Kasarani. I even trained with the Kenya Rugby Sevens.

In 2021, I started the year off with breaking records. In Nyayo Stadium, I sprint with 10.1 seconds but it was ruled as wind-aided.

I went to Nigeria for Grand Prix and broke our national record at 10.01 seconds; the fastest time for that event.

In South Africa, In June, I won with 10.06 seconds finish, beating their seasoned athletes. I had to cut the season short because of the pre-trials.

In pre-trials for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I won with 10.02 seconds finish."

When asked how he feels about representing Kenya in the Olympics Ferdinand says, it feels great to get a chance to represent my country.

Ferdinand will race on July 31^st and August 1, 2021.

He expressed his gratitude towards the Kenyan government, he underscored the importance of the government having faith in its athletes, investing in them, preparing them, and highlighting the talent. It bolsters their courage. He has noticed how this year, the government has really supported them.

Ferdinand has promised to give back to the University by putting tartan in the University’s tracks when he wins the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

When asked how he handles the pressure and mental health, Mr. Omanyala said, it has taken hard work and strict discipline to get to where he is.

“I have a natural mental strength and I visualize the races in my mind before the actual event.”

Advice to future sprinters, ‘Don’t blame anybody for your failure. You have to put your best foot forward and invest in the sport before the sport starts giving back to you.”

The University management and community wish Ferdinand Omanyala well in his races and in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Prof. Stephen Kiama, the UoN Vice-Chancellor promised to set up a watch party for the UoN community to cheer Ferdinand in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics race.