Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala/ FILEAfrica’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has credited his explosive start to the 2026 season to changes in his training programme and a strategic relocation of his preparation base to South Africa.
The African record holder revealed that heavier training loads and moving camp from Kenya to South Africa have played a major role in his dominant early-season form.
“We changed the training programme a little bit, we did more loading and we went to South Africa for training instead of Kenya, which really worked well for us,” Omanyala said.
The adjustments have already paid off, with Omanyala clocking four sub-10 second performances this season.
On Saturday, Omanyala opened his Diamond League campaign in impressive fashion at the Shanghai Diamond League, running 9.98 seconds to finish second — his fourth sub-10 performance of the year.
South Africa’s Gift Leotlela won the race in 9.97, while American sprinter Kenneth Bednarek completed the podium after also clocking 9.98.
Despite narrowly missing victory, Omanyala was pleased to once again dip below the 10-second barrier.
“I ran under 10 and I was satisfied. The result is good and we move on from here,” he said.
The 30-year-old now shifts focus to Saturday’s Xiamen Diamond League, where he will be chasing a fifth sub-10 performance of the season.
“Before the race, I expected to run under 10 seconds and I achieved that. I hope to keep the performance consistent in the next race in Xiamen,” he added.
With his season gathering momentum, Omanyala has already set his sights on the 2027 World Championships in Beijing, China, hoping the strong foundation built this year will translate into even faster times on the global stage.
“This is a good start to the season. I will keep going and prepare for next year’s World Championships in Beijing,” he remarked.
Omanyala has looked sharp since opening his 2026 outdoor campaign at the Cape Milers Continental Tour in South Africa, where he won the 100m in 10.19 seconds.
He comfortably beat South African pair Ubay Arend, who finished second in 10.55, and Keegan Van Der Merwe, who placed third in 10.56.
The Kenyan sprint star then hit top gear, beginning an impressive streak of sub-10 performances.
He fired the first warning shot at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix on April 18, storming to victory in 9.98 — his first sub-10 performance in more than two years.
Christopher Borzor finished second in 10.16, while Italy’s Chituru Ali came third in 10.26.
Omanyala then thrilled home fans at the Kip Keino Classic on April 24, lowering his season’s best to 9.96 while winning the race at Nyayo National Stadium.
South Africa’s Rivaldo Roberts finished second in 10.12, while Canadian veteran Aaron Brown placed third in 10.15.
Two days later, the Commonwealth champion lowered his season best again at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix, clocking 9.95 to finish third in a high-quality field.
Canada’s Jerome Blake won the race in 9.93, while compatriot Andre De Grasse finished second in 9.95, the same time as Omanyala.
Beyond his individual performances, Omanyala also played a key role in Kenya’s men’s 4x100m relay team at the World Relay Championships in Gaborone, Botswana.
Running alongside Meshack Babu, Mark Otieno and Ronald Koech, the Kenyan quartet clocked a national record of 38.50 seconds to finish fifth in Heat Two of the qualifying rounds for the 2027 World Championships.
