Paris 2024: Omanyala stunned, out of Olympics 100m final
Athletics
By
Washington Onyango
| Aug 04, 2024
Ghana's Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, US' Fred Kerley, Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala and Japan's Abdul Hakim Sani Brown compete in the men's 100m semi-final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 4, 2024.[AFP]
African champion Ferdinand Omanyala is out of Paris Olympics.
Omanyala missed out on the medal bracket after failing to make the finals of the 100m sprints when he finished a distant eighth during the semifinals heats on Sunday night.
The Commonwealth champion clocked 10.08 seconds at Stade de France to finish behind the current World fastest man Kishane Thompson who won the heat in an impressive 9.80 seconds.
USA’s Fred Kerley finished second after clocking 9.84 seconds to also qualify for the finals.
South Africa’s Akani Simbine and Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo will also be in the finals alongside Noah Lyles and Seville Oblique from Jamaica.
US sprinter Noah Lyles suffered a second straight slow start, beaten into second in his 100m semi-final by the Jamaican. Oblique clocked 9.81 seconds while Lyles ran 9.83 seconds.
The shock 100m winner in Tokyo, Italy's Marcell Jacobs, also scraped through to the final, where Jamaica's Kishane Thompson will start as fastest qualifier after notching 9.80sec.
No US athlete has won the 100m since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 Athens Games and the Americans are still smarting after Julien Alfred from tiny St.Lucia beat hot favourite Sha'Carri Richardson in the women's 100m final on Saturday.
The outspoken Lyles claims to be the rightful sprinting heir to the legendary Usain Bolt and has vowed to "transcend" his sport.
But he will have to improve on his two performances so far, 10.04sec in the heat and 9.83sec in the semi-final.