Ferdinand Omanyala: Why World Athletics Failed to Ratify World Lead As He Prepares for Diamond League Events

• Ferdinand Omanyala's time of 9.81 seconds two weeks ago has not been approved by World Athletics
• Africa's fastest man set what was thought to be a world record lead in the 100-metre race this season
• The continent's champion is set to be part of the Diamond League season, which will kick off in Doha

Africa's fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala has confirmed that he will compete in the lucrative Diamond League events this year.

The 2023 Diamond League season will kick off on May 5 in Doha, with the United States of America set to host its first-ever final at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

Omanyala will grace a number of the scheduled events, as reported by Lynne Wachira from BBC Sports.

The Commonwealth Champion also revealed he was invited last year but opted to prioritise the Africa Athletics Championships that were held in Mauritius.

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He dethroned the then-champion, Akani Simbine to become the new continental king over 100m races.

"You will definitely see me in the Diamond League. I can't reveal where my debut will be, but it's happening. I got some invitations last year, but they clashed with the Africa championships, which was a priority."

Omanyala's lead was not ratified

This comes at a time when World Athletics failed to ratify his World Lead time of 9.81 seconds. Omanyala obliterated the field at an Athletics Kenya meet at the Nyayo Stadium on February 25 to set the fastest time this year.

Sports Brief reported that Africa's fastest man delivered on both days.

It was an all-around positive meeting for sprinters as Samwel Imeta became only the second Kenyan to clock a sub-10 after running 9.94 seconds. Imeta is Omanyala's teammate in the 4x100-metre races.

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However, as captured by Capital Sports, the world governing body rejected the time due to an error in the wind-measuring equipment at the stadium. The time is said to have been clocked under conditions of a -4.8m/s headwind.

The current rules stipulate that if a race is run with a wind reading above 2.0 meters per second, the times in that race cannot qualify as records of any kind.

The 27-year-old was unfazed by the setback as he aims to better his African record this year.

Apart from the Diamond League, he will have a chance at redemption in August when he competes at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.