Ferdinand Omanyala’s Coach Reveals Sprinter’s Mentality Was Affected by Budapest Loss

• Ferdinand Omanyala's coach has revealed the sprinter's mentality has been affected
• The Kenyan athlete finished seventh at the World Athletics Championships last month
• He will have an opportunity for revenge at the Diamond League finals on September 16

Ferdinand Omanyala has uncharacteristically gone silent on social media after an unfortunate turn of events at the World Athletics Championships.

The Kenyan sprinter missed out on the podium places, finishing a disappointing seventh in the 100-metre finals won by American star, Noah Lyles.

Lyles tied the world lead of 9.83 seconds to take the win ahead of Letsile Tebogo (Botswana) and Zharnel Hughes (Great Britain), who took silver and bronze, respectively, in the August 20 showdown.

Omanyala had earlier scraped through to the final as one of the best losers in the semi-finals.

His coach, Duncan Ayiemba, has now admitted the loss in the competition in Hungary has taken a toll on the African champion.

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Athletics

"He had high hopes of a medal in Budapest. Every Kenyan had high hopes and everyone supported him. However, everything did not go as planned and that affected his mentality," Ayiemba said, as quoted by Nation Sports.

Prior to the championships, the Commonwealth champion had been adamant that he would deliver a podium finish in Budapest.

His build-up to the races was hot and cold, but confidence was high after he won his first Diamond League race in late July.

The 27-year-old has since run at the Gala dei Castelli in Bellinoza, Switzerland, where he finished second behind Jamaica's Oblique Seville.

He will be seeking to make amends at the Diamond League finals in Eugene on September 16 and 17.

Current Diamond League standings

Christian Coleman dropped the fastest time this year to win the first-ever 100m men's Diamond League event in Xiamen, China, on September 2.

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Athletics

The 2019 champion equalled Noah Lyles' and Zharnel Hughes' times this season to finish ahead of Kishane Thompson and Fred Kerley.

Kerley tops the current event list after finishing third in China. Sports Brief previously looked at the men's 100m Diamond League standings.