Ferdinand Omanyala has won the gold medal in the men’s 100metre final at the Commonwealth Games.
The 26-year-old champion’s victory makes him the first ever Kenyan in 60 years to win the Commonwealth Games 100m title.
Similarly, the first and only Kenyan to win the 100m sprint before Omanyala was Seraphino Antao.
Antao won the gold medal at the Club games in 1962, when the race was 100 yards (Approx 91.44m)
Moreover, Omanyala finished at 10.02secs to clinch his first ever global title after reaching the semis in his previous three attempts.
The defending champion Akani Simbine came second at 10.13secs, whereas, Sri Lankan Yupun Abeykoon settled for bronze in 10.14secs.
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Furthermore, the Kenyan 100m champion was clean on the take-off, taking charge of the race from the start and with his traditional burst in the final 50m.
This win marks Omanyala’s medal in his very first final, having missed out at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indoor Championships and the World Championships last month, where he reached the semis.
Nonetheless, the Commonwealth gold is a big reward for the athletics champion especially after the woes that befell him preceding to the World Championships in Oregon, where he arrived just three hours to his race.