Ferdinand Omanyala: Millions Africa’s fastest man will miss after poor Olympics outing

Ferdinand Omanyala during the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Ferdinand Omanyala: Millions Africa’s fastest man will miss after poor Olympics outing

Joel Omotto 07:00 - 07.08.2024

Ferdinand Omanyala’s disappointing Olympics outing will see him lose out big as there are bumper rewards set aside for medallists in Paris.

Ferdinand Omanyala’s disappointing exit from the Paris 2024 Olympics also came at cost as he will miss out on a bumper harvest in prize money.

Omanyala could not manage to go past the semi-finals yet again with American Noah Lyles winning gold after a close shave from Jamaican Kishane Thompson, who managed silver, as Fred Kerley clinched bronze.

While few expected the Commonwealth champion to win Olympics gold in the men’s 100m, there was still great optimism that a medal could arrive given he went into the Paris Games with the second fastest time of the season.

However, just like in Tokyo three years ago, Omanyala’s Olympics ended in the semi-final, having been pooled alongside Thompson, Kerley among others in his semi-final heat.

It means Africa’s fastest man missed out on the $50,000 (Ksh6.5 million) set aside for each Olympics gold medallist by World Athletics as well as Team Kenya’s reward for all medallists in Paris.

The Ministry of Sports will reward each gold medallist with Ksh3 million while silver will attract Ksh2 million as bronze medallists take home Ksh1 million from the scheme.

Missing the final and the podium will therefore prove costly for the 28-year-old who will have to revise his strategy and try to make amends at the 2025 World Championships.