Ferdinand Omanyala leaves Bupadest setback behind, faces Jacobs in Croatia

Commonwealth Games 100metres champion Ferdinand Omanyala has one more race in Europe before heading to the final of the Diamond League, the Prefontaine Classic in the United States of America.

Omanyala, who has competed in two World Athletics (WA) Continental Silver Tour in Switzerland and Italy in the last four days, finishing second in both, will field at the Memorial Borisa Hanžekovića, a Continental Gold Tour in Zagreb, Croatia on Sunday.

Prefontaine Classic will be held September 16 to 17 at Hayward Field, Eugene, Oregon, United States of America, the venue of last year's World Athletics Championships.

On Monday, Omanyala finished second at Gala dei Castelli, Switzerland clocking 10.04 seconds, losing the contest to Jamaican Oblique Seville in 10.01.

Omanyala would again lose to Seville at 59.Palio Citta' della Querca in Rovereto, Italy on Wednesday, clocking 10.15 against 10.00.

The meeting in Zagreb is in honour of Croatian hurdler Boris Hanzekovic, who was killed during the World War II.

The race has been staged since 1951 before it was upgraded to a WA Continental Gold Tour in 2020.

Omanyala, the Africa champion and record holder (9.77) has added more excitement to the 100m startlist in the Zagreb meeting that will also have Seville and Oympic champion, European champion and record holder Lamont Marcell Jacobs (9.80) from Italy.

Omanyala finished seventh in 10.07 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary where Seville settled fourth in 9.88 as Jacobs failed to reach the final.

Also in the race is Kishane Thompson from Jamaica, who is fresh from running personal best 9.85 for second place at Xiamen Diamond League in China Saturday and American Marvin Bracy (9.85).

Bracy came within a hundredth of a second of Usain Bolt’s meeting record with 9.86 when he won two years ago.