Ferdinand Omurwa

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 18th Sep 2021 in Nairobi.[1]

Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa
Personal information
NationalityKenyan
Born (1996-01-02) 2 January 1996
Nairobi, Kenya
EducationFriends School Kamusinga
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
SportSprinting
Event(s)100 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)

Career

Omurwa won the national title on 100 m in 2019. 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.[2] At the 2020 Summer Games 100 metres semi final he set a new national record of 10.00 seconds.[3]

Doping

Following a doping offence in 2017 Omurwa received a 14-month suspension. He tested positive for the prohibited substance betamethasone, after undergoing treatment for his back injury which he got during training.[4][5]

Competition record

In early 2016 Ferdinand Omanyala began his athletics career in Kenya as a Freshman in the University of Nairobi. He made this move after a friend noticed his speed while he was playing rugby. He bravely 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 in a time of 10.37s but never met the qualifying standard for the Olympics which was 10.16s at the time.

In the semi-finals of the men's 100m at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Omurwa ran 10.00, which was 0.04 behind eventual silver medalist Fred Kerley and 0.02 behind eventual bronze medalist Andre De Grasse.

Prior to his massive improvement in Nairobi, his personal best in the 100M was 9.86 seconds attained in Pramtalstadion, Andorf (AUT).[6] His official sponsors are Odibets,[7] a sports betting company in Kenya.[8]

On 18 September 2021, he ran a 9.77 (+1.2 m/s) for a new African record at the Absa Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour held in Nairobi, Kenya coming in a close second place behind Trayvon Bromell of USA running the 2021 world leading time of 9.76.[9]

References
  1. "Meet the Fastest Man in Kenya, Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa - Opera News". ke.opera.news. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  2. Varore, Demba. "Athlétisme : Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa, l'exception kényane". sportnewsafrica.com.
  3. "Athletics - Semi-Final 1 Results".
  4. https://www.adak.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Reasoned-Decision-Ferdinand-Omanyala.pdf
  5. "Athletics OMURWA Ferdinand - Tokyo 2020 Olympics".
  6. "Ferdinand OMANYALA". World Athletics. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. "Odibets". Odibets. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. Timothy, Olubulu. "Kenyan Sprint Sensation Ferdinand Omanyala Lands Bumper Odibets Support". Capital FM. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. "World Athletics Continental Tour | World Athletics".


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