Omanyala’s Olympic Final Dream Shattered
Ferdinand Omanyala, Kenya’s reigning Africa and Commonwealth Games 100m champion, has been eliminated from Olympic medal contention.
Omanyala’s chance to secure a medal ended after he finished eighth in the final semi-final heat with a time of 10.08 seconds on Sunday at Stade de France.
Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, the fastest sprinter of the season, won the heat in 9.80 seconds. The 2022 world champion, Fred Kerley from the USA, secured second place with a time of 9.84 seconds, also advancing to the final.
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South Africa’s Akani Simbine, a former Africa and Commonwealth Games 100m champion, and Letsile Tebogo, the world 100m silver medallist, both advanced to the final.
Simbine narrowly defeated Tebogo for second place in the second semi-final, clocking 9.87 to Tebogo’s 9.81.
In the first 100m semi-final, Jamaica’s Seville Oblique excelled, setting a personal best of 9.81 seconds to win. He edged out world 100m champion Noah Lyles from the USA, who finished second in 9.83.
Both Oblique and Lyles will compete in the final scheduled for 10:50 pm on Sunday.
Ekwam’s Disappointment
In other news, Zablon Ekwam from Kenya had a challenging debut in the 400m event.
Ekwam, starting in lane six of the sixth heat, was leading the race when he suffered a hamstring injury, causing him to fall on the track at Stade de France.
His ambitions of breaking his national record of 44.69 seconds and reaching the semi-finals were dashed as Charles Dobson from Great Britain won the sixth and final heat with a time of 44.96 seconds.
Grenada’s Kiran James, the 2012 London Olympics 400m champion, qualified for the semi-finals by winning the fifth heat in 44.78 seconds.
Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga triumphed in the third heat with a time of 44.56 seconds, while Americans Michael Norman (44.10) and Quincy Hall (44.28) won the first and fourth heats, respectively.
Matthew Hudson-Smith dominated the first heat with a time of 44.78 seconds while defending champion Steven Gardiner from the Bahamas did not start in heat four.
Omanyala’s Olympic Final Dream Shattered
