Africa’s sprint king, Ferdinand Omanyala, is fired up for another crack at glory as he lines up in a star-studded field in the Shanghai Diamond League this weekend.
Omanyala hopes to go one better after finishing second to in-form South African Akani Simbine at the Xiamen opening leg of the series.
Omanyala clocked 10.13 behind Simbine's 9.99, while Britain’s Jeremiah Azu settled for third in 10.17.
Botswana’s Olympic 200m champion, Letsile Tebogo, surprisingly faded to seventh, crossing the line in 10.20.
"For sure, I expected to win the race (in Xiamen), but the second place is not bad," Omanyala said. "I hope I can just get better and better."
The Shanghai stage will not be any easier with Simbine, Jamaica’s Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson, Tebogo and three-time world champion Christian Coleman of the USA in the mix.
Omanyala is winless against Simbine in their two meetings so far.
At the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix on April 12, Simbine won in 9.90, with Omanyala second in 10.00.
Simbine’s performances have inspired Omanyala.
"I was inspired by Simbine during the race. He pushed me to go ahead and take it easy," said Omanyala.
Omanyala got off the blocks fast to lead through 60 metres before the South African surged past in the closing stages.
"I stumbled a bit before 60m but managed to hold on and surge for the win," Simbine said post-race.
Omanyala, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, is still hunting his first sub-10 of the 2025 season.
His campaign began with a sluggish 10.22 for third at the ASA Grand Prix in South Africa, trailing Karabo Letebele and Emile Erasmus (both 10.19).
However, he bounced back in the second leg of the South African Grand Prix circuit, taking victory in 10.08 ahead of Tsebo Matsoso (10.12) and Bradley Nkoana (10.16).
He was the winner at the third Ugandan National trials on March 29, clocking 10.09 to beat compatriots Meshack Babu (10.41) and younger brother Isaac Omurwa (10.62).
Meanwhile, Thompson will be making his outdoor 100m debut in Shanghai.
He comes in with momentum from a solid indoor season, highlighted by his 6.56 win in the 60m at the Astana Indoor meet in Kazakhstan.
