100m Commonwealth Games champion Ferdinand Omanyala was head and shoulders above the rest of the field at the Nyayo National Stadium as he breezed to an impressive 9.97 seconds victory in the Athletics Kenya National Championships 100m finals on Saturday afternoon.
Starting rather shakily and behind the park, Omanyala gained momentum just before the 40m mark, leaving his competitors in his wake in the -2.4 M/S wind.
Kenya Defense Forces’ Meshack Babu came in second, clocking 10.50, with Prisons’ Hesbon Ochieng timing 10.58 in third place.Also on 10.58 was fourth placed Steve Onyango of KDF.
“It feels nice to defend my title and win myself and my employers – Kenya Police – another gold medal,” a delighted Omanyala said after the race – his seventh sub 10 seconds this season.
“The performance felt okay given that I was also running in the relays. That is a target achieved though a little bit surprised with the time. I wasn’t expecting a sub 10 performance but it feels great.”
The win marked his third national championship victory, coming on the back of a decent 10.06 semifinals victory early in the day.
The African champion and record holder had also easily won his heat on Friday clocking 10.06.
In the women’s category, Prison’s Esther Mbagari won the 100m finals timing 11.68 ahead of Ugandan Jacenta Nyamahunge and KDF’s Rukia Nusra in second and third place respectively.
