• The duo will face a tough test from Samuel Chege who placed second during the last edition of the race in a time of 21.15. They will also be joined by KDF’s Justin Mogoi who placed third in the last edition.
• The women’s 200m will be highlighted by Maximila Imali from Western who scooped last year’s title clocking 23:42. The 28-year-old further won the 100m race clocking 11:45.
Image: FILE
Africa’s 100m fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala is set for an epic showdown with Mark Otieno in the 200m race at the third Athletics Kenya (AK) track and field meeting starting today at the Nyayo National Stadium.
Otieno, who is returning from a doping ban since 2020 will be seeking to redeem himself as he seeks to book a slot to represent the nation at the African Games in March in Accra, Ghana.
Otieno tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Methasterone ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and was banned from competing until 2023.
He got the green light to resume competition in August last year and immediately embarked on a mission to attain qualification standards for the Paris Olympic Games.
In his first competitive race back from suspension, Otieno clocked 10.39 at a meeting in Italy missing out on the Olympic qualifying time by just 0.39.
jAthletes intending to qualify for the Olympics in the 100m need to clock 10 seconds between July 1, 2023 and June 20, 2024.
The 30-year-old had previously broken the Kenyan 100m record after clocking 10.14 to clinch the title at the National Athletics Championships at the Nyayo Stadium in June 2017. His highest world ranking in the 100m is 67 and 207 for the 200m.
Omanyala would later go on to smash Otieno's mark as well as the African record previously held by Namibia’s Frankie Frederick- at the Kip Keino Classic in 2020.
In an interview with Citizen Digital in November 2023 after his ban had been lifted, Otieno stated that he relished a contest with Omanyala but was quick to add that they would work as a team.
“He is such a good brother and competitor; we had a good bond while in Tokyo for the Olympics and we have been talking all through,” he told Citizen Digital.
Omanyala’s last conquest came in August 2022 when he claimed Kenya's first gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England, making him the first Kenyan to win gold in the 100m race in 60 years.
During the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he finished seventh in the 100m final.
In a post-race interview after his disastrous race, he said his body was not ‘firing right’ leading up to the 100m finals.
“I really can’t tell what happened today. My body wasn’t just firing from the semis. We’ll just have to go back and see where to correct and what to do best next time,” he said.
The duo will face a tough test from Samuel Chege, who placed second during the last edition in a time of 21.15 alongside third-placed Justin Mogoi of KDF.
Chege, whose current world ranking in the 200m is 238, will seek to upset Kenya's top sprinting duo.
The women’s 200m will be highlighted by Maximila Imali from Western. She scooped last year’s title in 23:42 and further won the 100m race in 11:45. This year, Imali will feature in the 100m, 200m, 400m, shot put, and long jump.
She will come up against Damaris Mutunga of Kenya Police, who came second in the previous meeting and Esther Mbagari of Kenya Prisons who placed third.
Athletics Kenya will use this meeting together with other meetings to select athletes who will participate in the trials for the African Games.
The trials for the African Games are slated for February 17 and 16 at Nyayo Stadium whereas the African Games will take place on March 18-23 in Accra, Ghana.