Ferdinand Omanyala has dethroned Akani Simbine as the 100m champion in Africa in the finals of the Africa Senior Championships held on Thursday June 9 in Reduit, Mauritius.
Omanyala claimed the continental title by clocking 9.93 minutes thereby breaking Nigeria’s Seun Ogunkoya’s 1998 record of 9.94 set in Dakar, Senegal and effectively handing Kenya its first Africa title in 3 decades.
Ferdinand Omanyala was born on January 2, 1996 in Bungoma County was admitted to Friends School Kamusinga in 2010 after which he joined the University of Nairobi. It was at this school that he began his sporting career. Omanyala joined the school’s rugby team in 2012 when he was in Form 3, making an impression to scouts from the national team.