Ferdinand Omanyala, a local legend, stated he intends to break his African 100m record (9 sec 77 in 2021) at the Kip Keino Classic, an international meet hosted on Saturday in Nairobi.
“I’ve already run pretty fast this season. But if you think you have seen it all, you are wrong! The previous African record was too long. If the conditions are right tomorrow (Saturday), it’s warm and it doesn’t rain, then everything will be there (for a record).”
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion in the 100m, has withdrawn from the competition where she had planned to make her comeback due to a knee ailment, stated Friday.
The Kip Keino Classic’s organizer, Barnabas Korir, announced that the Jamaican had damaged her knee during training on Thursday at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium.
“I am deeply disappointed to inform you that I will not be competing at the Kip Keino Classic,” the Jamaican sprinter announced in a statement. “I had every intention of starting my season at one of the great track and field events in East Africa,” the 36-year-old added.
Fraser-Pryce hopes to extend her career to the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, for a fifth Olympic participation.
The Jamaican, who has been running faster than ever over the past two years, earned his sixth global title in the queen event last year in Eugene, USA. Her two straight line Olympic titles stretch back to the 2008 and 2012 Games.
Without Fraser-Pryce, the spotlight is on American Sha’Carri Richardson, who was named in the 200m in Nairobi following a flashy 100m victory in Doha last week (winning in 10 sec 76).