Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa (born 2 January 1996) is a Kenyan sprinter who specializes in the 100m and 200m events.
He is currently the African record holder and 8th fastest man of all-time in the 100 metres after clocking a time of 9.77 on 18 September 2021 in Nairobi.
Omurwa was born in Hamisi as the third son of Dishon and Adelaide Omurwa, though the family settled in Tongaren soon afterwards.
Omanyala success
In 2015 Ferdinand Omanyala began his athletics career in Kenya as a chemistry student the University of Nairobi.
He made this move after a friend noticed his speed while he was playing rugby. He made the switch from rugby to track.
And only a few weeks later he ran a time of 10.4s in his first AK meet in Kakamega. The same year, he won the national Olympics trials over the 100m distance.
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Olympics qualifying standards
In a time of 10.37s but never met the qualifying standard for the Olympics which was 10.16s at the time.
Following a doping offence in 2017 Omurwa received a 14-month suspension. He tested positive for the prohibited substance betamethasone.
This was after undergoing treatment for his back injury which he got during training. Omurwa won the national title on 100 m in 2019.
National Record
Omurwa set a national record of 10.01 seconds in the 100 meters in winning a meeting at Yabatech Sport Complex, Lagos (NGR) on 30 March 2021.
At the 2020 Summer Games 100 metres semi final he set a new national record of 10.00 seconds.
He was 0.04 behind eventual silver medalist Fred Kerley and 0.02 behind eventual bronze medalist Andre De Grasse.
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Best of 9.86 seconds
Omanyala then ran a new personal best of 9.86 seconds in Austria. This was in August, becoming the first Kenyan to ever break the 10-second barrier.
On 18 September 2021, he ran a 9.77 (+1.2 m/s) for a new African record at the Absa Kip Keino Classic held in Nairobi, Kenya coming in a close second place behind Trayvon Bromell.
ho ran the 2021 world leading time of 9.76. Omurwa is married to Laventa Amutavi and they have a son. His official sponsors are Odibets, a Kenyan sports betting company.
