- Status: Active
- Height: 175 cm (5’9”)
- Weight: 82kg
- Age: 29
- Birthday: January 2, 1996
- Nationality: Kenyan
- Events: 60m, 100m, 200m
- Personal Bests:
- 60m: 6.51 seconds
- 100m: 9.77 seconds
- 200m: 20.33 seconds
Ferdinand Omanyala Honours
- 2022 African Champion in the 100-meter
- 2022 African Champion in the 4 x 100-meter relay
- 2022 Commonwealth Champion in the 100-meter
Ferdinand Omanyala Career
Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa is one of the fastest men of all time and holds the African record in the 100-meter with a time of 9.77 seconds, which he set in Nairobi in 2021. This time ties him with Kishane Thompson for the ninth fastest man of all time.
Omanyala was born in Hamisi, Kenya and his family moved to Tongaren soon after he was born. He’s the middle child of five boys.
Omanyala’s athletics career started in 2025 when he was studying chemistry at the University of Nairobi. While playing rugby, teammates and friends noticed his speed and encouraged him to try the short sprints. He ran 10.4 seconds in his first race in Kakamega and won the country’s Olympic Trials in 2016 with a time of 10.38 seconds, falling short of the Olympic standard but setting him on the road for international success.
Omanyala started competing internationally in 2017. He ran a hand-timed 9.9 seconds twice in May in Nairobi without any wind information. Hand-timed races are not considered valid by World Athletics, but these races would foreshadow his future as a sub-10-second runner.
He would compete at the World University Games later that year in Taiwan.
Doping Ban
Omanyala received a 14-month doping ban spanning from September 17, 2017, to November 13, 201,8 for testing positive for the substance glucocorticoid betamethasone. This drug falls into a class of medications called corticosteroids, which reduce inflammation in the body. It’s usually used to treat conditions such as asthma and allergy symptoms. It’s worth noting that while it’s a “steroid,” it’s not an anabolic steroid commonly used by athletes to build muscle.
At his doping trial, Omanyala stated that he was self-training in February 2016 without a coach until starting to work with Duncan Ayuemba in March when they met at a March meeting. He stated that while participating at the National Relay Team in the Bahamas in 2017 he started experiencing back pain while training twice a day six days per week.
In April and May 2017, he continued training without improvement, and he got severe pain in June when performing block starts. Under the guidance of his coach, he was referred to a doctor who prescribed him this medication to help reduce inflammation. The doctor mistakenly told him that the substance was not banned by the World Anti-Doping Association.
It was determined at the hearing that there was sufficient proof to uphold the 14-month ban.
International Success
After serving his 14-month ban, Omanyala went on to run 10.31 seconds at the Kenya World Championship Trials in Nairobi in 2019. He posted several other times under 10.40 seconds in Kenya in 2020.
Omanyala saw his biggest breakthrough in 2021. He opened the season with a new personal best of 10.29 seconds in February in Nairobi and dropped his time to 10.18 seconds several months later. At the end of March, in Lagos, Nigeria, he ran 10.01 seconds in the semi-final and 10.05 seconds in the final of the 3rd MoC Grand Prix.
He would continue to show consistency around the 10 second barrier in the upcoming months, running 10.06 seconds in South Africa and 10.02 seconds to win the Kenyan Olympic Games Trials and qualify for his first Olympics.
He tied his personal best in the heats at the Tokyo Olympics, running 10.01 seconds. The next day, he dropped his time to 10.00 seconds in the semi-final, narrowly missing making the final.
Omanyala would continue his successful season, running a large personal best of 9.96 seconds in the heats and 9.86 seconds in the final of the 100 meter at the International Josko Laufmeeting in Austria two weeks later.
His current personal best came at the Kip Keino Classic in his home country, where he ran 9.77 seconds to finish his 2021 season. He would finish second at the meet, 0.01 seconds behind the American Trayvon Bromell.
2022 and Onwards
Omanyala competed at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in 2022, winning his heat with a time of 6.62 seconds and finishing fourth in his semi-final race with a time of 6.64 seconds.
He would dip under 10 seconds again in April into a negative wind at the ASA Athletics Grand Prix 4 in Johannesburg. He returned to the Keip Keino Classic in 2022 to run 9.85 seconds and win. A few weeks later, he became the African Champion when he ran 9.93 seconds on June 9. He was also part of the Kenyan gold medal-winning 4 x 100 relay team.
Omanyala would compete at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, finishing fifth in his semi-final heat.
He won the Commonwealth Games in August, running 10.02 seconds in Birmingham, edging out South Africa’s Akani Simbine.
Omanyala continued to run well in 2023, clocking 9.78 seconds at the Botswana Grand Prix and 9.84 seconds at the Kip Keino Classic. He won the Herculis Meeting International d’Athlétisme EBS Diamond League Meeting and became the Kenyan champion in the 100 for the third time. He would finish seventh at the World Championships in Budapest.
He ran well heading into the 2024 Olympics in Paris, clocking 9.79 seconds at the Kenyan Olympic Trials, but missed the final, running 10.08 seconds in his heat and his semi final race.
At the 2025 World Athletics Relay in Guangzhou, China, he helped Kenya’s 4 x 100 relay team qualify for the upcoming Tokyo World Championships.
Ferdinand Omanyala Personal Life
Omanyala was born to Fred and Shikanga Omurwa, who belong to Kenya’s second-largest ethnic community, the Luhya group.
Omanyala played winger at Friends School Kamusinga before competing in Athletics.
Omanyala is married to Laventa Amutavi, and they have two children together, a son and a daughter.
Ferdinand Omanyala FAQs
Why was Ferdinand Omanyala Banned for Doping
In 2017, Ferdinand Omanyala tested positive for the substance glucocorticoid betamethasone, which is an anti-inflammatory medication.
What is Ferdinand Omanyala physique?
Like most sprinters, Ferdinand Omanyala has a lean and muscular build at 1.75m (5’9”) and 82kg (181 lbs).
What is Ferdinand Omanyala’s Job?
Omanyala is a professional sprinter, specializing in the 100-meter.
Was Ferdinand Omanyala on the Kenyan Relay Team?
At the 2025 World Athletics Relays, Ferdinand Omanyala ran the third leg in the 4 x 100. The team qualified for the World Athletics Championships. He was also a part of the 2022 African Championship-winning Kenyan team.
What is Ferdinand Omanyala’s Fastest Time?
Ferdinand Omanyala’s personal best in the 100-meter is 9.77 seconds, which he set in 2021.