Courtney Lindsey beats Ferdinand Omanyala in Zagreb

Courtney Lindsey beats Ferdinand Omanyala in Zagreb

Abigael Wafula 21:58 - 08.09.2024

Ferdinand Omanyala was hoping to defend his title at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb but American Courtney Lindsey proved too strong for him.

Ferdinand Omanyala could only afford a second-place finish in the men’s 100m at the final World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb on Sunday night.

The Commonwealth Games champion clocked a stunning 10.02 seconds to cross the finish line behind American Lindsey Courtney who dipped under 10 seconds, winning the race in a time of 9.97 seconds.

Romell Glave of the United Kingdom completed the podium in the tight race, crossing the finish line in 10.11 as Canada’s Jerome Blake came in fourth.

Omanyala has had quite a long season starting from the indoor tour before he kickstarted his outdoor campaign at the Kip Keino Classic. Omanyala raced at the World Indoor Championships where he finished fourth in the 60m.

He started his outdoor campaign on quite a low note, finishing fifth at the Kip Keino Classic before heading to the World Athletics Relays where Team Kenya finished fourth in the men’s 4x100m relay to miss out on a slot to the Paris Olympic Games.

He bounced back to podium finishes at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League Meeting in Eugene where he finished second behind Christian Coleman and later finished third behind Oblique Seville and Noah Lyles at the Racers Grand Prix.

At the Kenyan Olympic trials, Omanyala treated fans to a great show after clocking the second-fastest time of his career to win the men’s 100m final at the Nyayo National Stadium. The 28-year-old clocked 9.79 seconds to win the race ahead of Mark Otieno. Before the Olympic Games, Omanyala won the FBK Games in Hengelo.

Things got tough for Omanyala at the Olympic Games as he was eliminated from the men’s 100m final after his eight-place finish in the semifinal. He bounced back to winning ways at the Int. JOSKO Laufmeeting after his Olympic heartbreak.

He proceeded to the Diamond League Meeting in Silesia where he finished second behind Fred Kerley. At the Diamond League Meeting in Rome, Omanyala faded to seventh place.