This archive report was first published on 3 September 2021.
On September 3, 2021, National 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala made history by becoming the first Kenyan to compete at the World Athletics Diamond League in Brussels.
After a breakout season that started at the Olympics, where he broke the Kenyan record with a time of 10.01 seconds in the semi-finals, Omanyala continued to impress with a sub-10 second 100m run at the Josko Lauf Meeting in Austria on August 15, clocking 9.86 seconds in the final.
Now, Omanyala will line up alongside Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley from the USA, South African Akani Simbine, and American duo Trayvon Bromell and Michael Norman at the Brussels Diamond League.
"I am too excited to be in the Diamond League because this is a big dream," Omanyala said in an interview with Capital Sport from Brussels. "Ever since I started athletics, my dream has always been to compete at the Diamond League and knowing that I have a lane in Brussels is a huge thing for me. This is a boost in my career and definitely a push to do better," he added.
