Omanyala Takes Month-Long Break to Prepare for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, plans to pause competitions for a month to focus on training and strategy ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo this September. The 2022 Commonwealth Games champion has yet to break the 10-second barrier in the 100m since starting his season on March 12 in South Africa.
Omanyala kicked off his season at the ASA Grand Prix in South Africa, finishing third in 10.22 before winning the second leg in 10.08. He continued with a victory at the Uganda National Trials (10.09), leading a Kenyan sweep. At the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix, he ran 10.00, placing behind South Africa’s Akani Simbine (9.90).
His Diamond League performances included a second-place finish in Xiamen (10.13), a last-place finish in Shanghai (10.25), and third in Rabat (10.05), with Simbine consistently ahead. At the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Omanyala took third (10.07) behind Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy (9.98). In Europe, he secured third in Rome (10.07), second in Estonia (10.15), and third in another Estonian race (10.35).
Most recently, he won the 100m title at the Athletics Kenya National Championships (10.09). In an interview, Omanyala shared plans for his break, noting he previously hit the Tokyo entry standard of 9.88 at the 2024 Silesia Diamond League.
“I’m taking a month’s break after being on the road since March,” he said, aiming to achieve a sub-10-second run in August races.
Despite not yet breaking 10 seconds this season, the 28-year-old remains proud of his consistency, reaching the podium in 11 of 12 races. During his break, Omanyala will ramp up training to prepare for the Tokyo Championships, determined to hit his sub-10 target.
