Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala tasted defeat for the first time in the 100m this year after being stunned by Sri Lankan Yupun Abeykoon Mudiyanselage at the Leichtathletik Meeting "Anhalt 2022" in Dessau, Germany.
Omanyala, who boasts of a world-leading time of 9.85 seconds and an African record of 9.77, had previously won nine 100m races, including the Kip Keino Classic title with the fastest time this year of 9.85 at the Kasarani Stadium, Nairobi on May 7.
However, at the Leichtathletik Meeting, Omanyala settled for second place in 10.14 seconds against the winner's 10.06 seconds. Abeykoon, the Sri Lankan national record holder, had previously won in Dessau in 10.16 seconds in 2020.
Omanyala's loss comes as he prepares for the African Senior Athletics Championships slated for June 8-12 in Mauritius. He is expected to head to the Ostrava Golden Spike in the Czech Republic on May 31 before joining Team Kenya for a residential training camp at Kasarani.
