Ferdinand Omanyala went into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games a very confident man having run the second-fastest time (9.79 seconds) in the 100 metres this year behind Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson’s 9.77s.
However, the Kenyan sprint ace was left heartbroken for a second consecutive Olympic Games as he failed to reach the final in Paris in what was supposed to be his chance to showcase how far he has come in his inspiring journey.
Lined up in the third semifinal, Omanyala appeared to have stumbled during the start of his race and never recovered as he clocked 10.08s to finish in eighth place out of the nine contestants, leaving him out of contention.
The result was a repeat of what happened to Omanyala in the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games where the Kenyan sprinter also got knocked out in the semis in what was his Olympic debut then.
In his absence, World champion Noah Lyles roared to victory in 9.79 seconds to claim gold in a dramatic race held hours later.
Lyles won in the closest Olympic 100m finish in modern history — just five-thousandths of a second separated him from Thompson who clocked the same time of 9.79sec.
It made Lyles the first American, male or female, to win the event since Justin Gatlin took gold in the 2004 Athens Games.
Lyles’ US teammate Fred Kerley took bronze in 9.81sec, just one-hundredth ahead of South African Akani Simbine, who timed 9.82sec.
ALSO READ: Superstar Noah Lyles wins Olympic 100m gold in closest finish in modern history
In an astonishing race, defending champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy was fifth in 9.85sec, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo sixth in 9.86sec, American Kenny Bednarek seventh in 9.88sec and Jamaican Oblique Seville eighth in 9.91sec.
Starting in lane seven, outside Seville and inside Tebogo, Lyles got off to an average start but was soon into his stride pattern.
Head tucked down through to the 40-metre mark, the American opened up, but the whole field pushed him all the way.
As Lyles dipped for the line with Thompson charging alongside him, the crowd erupted and a photo-finish was called before Lyles was confirmed as gold medallist.
ALSO READ: SportPesa launch revolutionary Tujiamini Initiative to nurture talent
Tujiamini is an initiative that seeks to provide a platform, including up to 30M shillings in funding, for individual, team sports and various talent, in a year-long campaign that will go around the country in a move aimed at evoking the sense of pride in Kenya’s sports and talent ecosystem.
Applicants are urged to submit their applications through www.tujiamini.co.ke