History-maker Ferdinand Omanyala wins 100m at Monaco Diamond League
Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya celebrates winning in the Men's 100m event during the Wanda Diamond League "Herculis" athletics meeting at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, on July 21, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Omanyala clocked 9.92sec for victory ahead of Botswana's youngster Letsile Tebogo.
Commonwealth Games 100 metres champion Ferdinand Omanyala made history after becoming the first Kenyan to win a 100 metres race in the Diamond League on Friday.
Omanyala, who finished second in Florence and Paris, finally had his day in the sun, digging deep before beating the World Under-20 champion Letsile Tebogo from Botswana in a thrilling finish.
Omanyala, the Africa 100m champion, clocked 9.92 seconds, beating Tebogo, the world junior 100m record holder, to second place in season-best 9.93.
Jamaicans Ackeem Blake and former Olympic 100m champion Yohan Blake finished third and fourth in 10.00 and 10.01 respectively in a race where Silesia Diamond League winner Akani Simbine from South Africa withdrew at the last minute.
Omanyala made history as the only other Kenyan sprinter to have won a Diamond League race after the late Nicholas Bett, who triumphed in 400m hurdles in 2016 Paris.
Earlier, the national and Kenya Defence Forces champion Simon Koech announced his entry to the world of steeplechase when he won the 3,000m steeplechase race on his debut in the Diamond League.
The 20-year-old Koech, who also won the national trials for the Budapest World Championships, obliterated the field that included the Commonwealth Games champion Abraham Kibiwott, to win in a personal best eight minutes and 04.19 seconds.
Koech edged out Kibiwott to second place in 8:09.54 as Ethiopian Abrham Sime timed a personal best of 8:10.56 for third place.
