Ferdinand Omanyala: Africa’s Fastest Man Upbeat Ahead of World Indoor Championships

• Ferdinand Omanyala will begin his indoor season in February with two races in France
• Omanyala is set to compete at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow from March 1
• The African champion and his coach, George Kimani, opened up on their 2024 preparations

Ferdinand Omanyala has exuded confidence as he gets ready to begin his 2024 season.

The fastest man in Africa has ramped up his training in recent weeks as he aims to get in shape ahead of the indoor season, which kicks off in a week.

Omanyala surprised many at the end of last year when he swapped coaches, ditching Duncan Ayiembe for renowned sprints coach George Kimani.

Sports Brief caught up with the two during a media day at the Nyayo National Stadium as they shed light on the training sessions and the indoor season ahead.

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"I have been training for the last three months. It has been tough, but we try to be consistent because that's the hard part of preparation. Once the season starts, it becomes hard to train cause we will be travelling to different countries for competitions."

World Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024

The Commonwealth Champion will race in the 200m this weekend at an Athletics Kenya meet before flying out to begin his indoor season. He will run in Miramas on February 2 before going to Paris on February 11. He will participate in the 60m for both races.

The 28-year-old lowered the national 60m record last year at the Lievin World Indoor Tour meet in France, where he beat the Olympic champion, Marcel Jacobs.

"My training schedule doesn't change much when preparing for the 60m. The only difference is that this is shorter than 100m but still requires top-end speed. You need to hit top speed in a very short time, which also helps in the 100m."

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This will be Omanyala's third season participating in the indoor championships, culminating with the World Indoor Championships on March 1 to 3 in Glasgow, Scotland. He opines that he has more experience and will use the events to gauge his readiness for the outdoor season.

"No pressure. The competition is tough, especially at the world championships; everybody wants to win. The most important thing for me will be to keep the positivity all year."

Inside look at Omanyala's training sessions

Coach Kimani then opens up on how Omanyala's schedule changed once he took over. Given that he is still a student at the University of Nairobi, his training ends at 11 am to allow him to attend classes and recover for the next sessions.

"On a typical day, we will hit the gym first, then do some speed sessions and finish by 11 am. Towards the end of last year, the volume of the training was a lot; we could have even two sessions a day. But as we approach the competitions, we change tactics and focus on the intensity."

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Kimani shares how Omanyala's mindset stands out for him. He explains that the African champion always wants to push himself even when he is feeling low on energy.

"Some athletes will fall and refuse to continue, but with him, he is always ready to take on more. I have sometimes had to draw the line between pushing him to a place he can't reach or leaving something in the tank."

Is Omanyala too confident?

In a previous interview with Sports Brief, Omanyala's wife, Laventa Amutavi, revealed how her husband's fearless nature and mental strength are her favourite qualities, but Kimani is quick to jump in;

"Omanyala's confidence has always been misconstrued for pride, but it is his mindset that sets him apart. We chatted about it and I asked him to maintain the confidence that he can beat anyone on the track. People might mistake it for pride, yes, but he is confident in his ability."

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The coach declined to discuss their Olympic preparations, stating they would deal with one competition at a time.

After a 2023 season that saw Omanyala qualify for the World Athletics Championships finals in Budapest, win his first Diamond League event and set a 100m World Lead at one point, he is ready to go again in 2024.