Like the biblical prodigal son, Africa’s fastest Ferdinand Omanyala is back with his longtime former coach, Duncan Ayiemba, after two years.
Omanyala, the reigning Commonwealth Games 100metres champion, confirmed yesterday that he is back at Ayiemba stable upon the expiration of the two-year contract with strength and conditioning coach, Geoffrey Kimani.
The 29-year-old Omanyala, who holds the Africa 100m and 150m records, parted ways with Ayiemba after the 2023 World Athletics Championships and engaged Kimani, a former sprinter.
“It’s every sportsman and woman’s dream to get better and that journey will always see them change teams or coaches so as to achieve excellent results,” said Omanyala. “One will either achieve their targets or not and that is sports.”
Omanyala said that things didn’t work as he would have wanted with Kimani owing to the fact that his body didn’t adjust quickly and well enough to new training programmes.
Omanyala, who was eliminated in the semi-finals of the men's 100m at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships said that he will focus on rehabilitating the nagging pain in his hip and pelvic areas before resuming training next month.
“I will always welcome Omanyala back any time and our focus will remain the same… getting to the best place ever,” said Ayiemba, 43, when contacted for comments. “I will meet him when he is ready to roll back our plan.”
Coach Duncan Ayiemba during an interview at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on March 13, 2023.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Omanyala was forced to withdraw from the men’s 100m Diamond League final on August 28 at Letzigrund Stadium, Zurich, Switzerland due to injury.
Omanyala said that it was a miracle he was able to take the blocks in Tokyo as he heaped praise on Team Kenya doctors especially Jessica Shiraku for working on him well.
“I wasn’t able to run when I arrived in Team Kenya camp but that dedicated team of doctors worked magic,” he said Omanyala.
Omanyala disclosed that withdrawing from the Diamond League final due to an injury and failing to record a sub 10 seconds performance were some of his lowest moments this season.
“It was really discouraging not to go under 10 seconds with the hip injury worsening things,” said Omanyala. He said he will put aside the challenges and focus on the positives from the season. "You can't have control of everything, you just let some flow and flow with the rhyme."
Omanyala noted that breaking the 150m Africa Record with a new time of 14.70 at the Adidas Atlanta City Games on May 17 in the United States of America and chalking podium finishes at Xiamen, China and Rome, Italy Diamond Leagues, were some of his best moments this year.
In February, Omanyala, who skipped the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Europe for the first time since 2021 as a change of strategy, said that failing to medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, humbled him.
Omanyala was one of the favourites to clinch the title heading to Budapest but finished a disappointing seventh place in a race won by American Noah Lyles.
World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Men's 100m Round 1 - Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 13, 2025 Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala reacts after the heats.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Before heading to Budapest, Omanyala had made history as the first Kenyan to win a 100m race at the Diamond League with victory in Monaco.
He surprisingly failed to reach the final at the Paris Olympics Games, sinking to eighth place in his semi-final.
Last year, Omanyala ran a world lead of 9.79 seconds during the National trials for the Paris Olympic Games on June 15, a time that was ranked second last season after Jamaican Kishane Thompson’s 9.77 that he ran at Jamaica’s Paris Olympics trials.
The highlight of Omanyala’s performance with Ayiemba was when he broke the Africa record, posting 9.77 seconds as he finished second in the 2021 Kip Keino Classic, losing to American Trayvon Bromell who ran 9.76.
Omanyala would make his debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that were rescheduled for 2021 where he made history as the first Kenyan sprinter in 100m to reach the semi-finals.
Omanyala, who was then the seventh all-time fastest man in 100m, went on to win the Africa 100m and 4x100m titles as well as Commonwealth Games 100m title in 2022.
Omanyala, under Ayiemba, reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Oregon, United States.
