- Ferdinand Omanyala will start his 2025 season at the ASA Grand Prix in South Africa.
- Omanyala has a 100m personal best of 9.77 seconds.
- The Kenyan sprinter is seeking to compete in the 100m and 200m disciplines in the upcoming World Athletics Championships.
African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala is expected to start his much awaited 2025 international season in South Africa.
Omanyala, who set the continental record of 9.77 seconds in 2021, revealed on Tuesday morning that he will take part in the ASA Grand Prix.
The event is planned to be held on Wednesday, March 12 and Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
The ASA Grand Prix 1 will take place at the Pilditch Stadium in the country’s capital City Pretoria on Wednesday, March 12 from 5 PM while the ASA Grand Prix 2 is slated to go down the following week in Johannesburg.
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Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya at the finish line in the Men’s 100m at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, part of the Wanda Diamond League, on August 25, 2024, at Slaski Stadium in Chorzow. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto) (Photo by Artur Widak / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
“And just like that my 2025 season is here. Different year, different tactics but same goals. We start in South Africa tomorrow at 17:00 local time. Those close to Pilditch Stadium, see you there!” Omanyala announced.
The 29-year-old, who elected to miss the indoor season altogether, will use the event to gauge himself ahead of seeking qualification for the 2025 World Athletics Championships that will be held in Tokyo Japan between September 13 and September 21.
According to the Omanyala Foundation, the Friends School Kamusinga alumni is seeking to represent the country in the 100m and 200m disciplines.
“Join us in wishing our founder, Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, all the best as he kicks off his 2025 season! This Wednesday, March 12, Omanyala will hit the track at the ASA Grand Prix Series in South Africa – a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger event.
He will be leading Kenya’s charge for world championships qualification in the 100m and 200m, with the bar set at 10.00 and 20.16 seconds respectively,” the statement read in part.
The same race will see Omanyala clash with local rival Mark Odhiambo as well as former South Africa 200m champion Luxolo Adams and 32-year-old Emile Erasmus.
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Kenyans have placed a lot of expectations on Omanyala this year with many of them hoping to see him clinch a medal at the world championships.
Besides Omanyala, several Kenyan athletes including the reigning 1500m Olympic Games champion Faith Kipyegon have also confirmed the events that they will compete for the first time this season.
Kipyegon, who trains in Kaptagat with big names such as Daniel Mateiko and Eliud Kipchoge, is set to begin her campaign at the Xiamen Diamond League in China on April 26.
Omanyala’s African rival Letsile Tebogo of Botswana has also been confirmed for that Diamond League event.
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