Ferdinand Omanyala reveals what he eats to make him run faster & why he has no role models

Ferdinand Omanyala has revealed how he is approaching races in 2025. Image source: Imago

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Ferdinand Omanyala hints at World Indoor showdown with Kishane Thompson

Ferdinand Omanyala reveals what he eats to make him run faster & why he has no role models

Joel Omotto 12:05 - 03.03.2025

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has given an insight into his favourite meal that has acted as great fuel for his sprinting career while explaining why he does not look up to anyone.

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala has carved a career in sprints thanks to his immense talent and is now considered among the world’s best.

Even though he is yet to win a medal in a major championship, Omanyala has kept running faster times and currently has the second fastest time of the year, while he is also the African record holder.

Omanyala clocked 9.79 seconds at the Kenyan Olympics trials last June, the world’s fastest at the time, before Jamaican Kishane Thompson lowered it to 9.77 seconds a few days later, while he has the African record of 9.77 seconds recorded in Nairobi in September 2021.

Running fast needs a great diet and Omanyala is among those who subscribe to African cuisine to refuel after a hard day’s work

“Ugali and fish,” Omanyala said when asked about what he likes to eat after a big race during a question-and-answer session with his sponsor Tusker.

Omanyala then went into details about how he prepares for a big race, explaining the importance of visualising everything beforehand.

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“I try to run these races in my mind more than 500 times before I can run these races in the stadium so visualisation is a big thing and a bit key for me,” he added.

With many athletes having someone they look up to as they aspire to hit their best, Omanyala does not subscribe to that, choosing to focus on himself instead.

“I am really looking up to myself, I want to break the records that I have set before,” he said, while ranking his African record as his greatest achievement so far, since his time of 9.77 seconds put him ninth on the all-time list of fastest 100m runners.

One thing still missing in Omanyala’s cabinet is a major championship medal after reaching the final of the 2023 World Championships and finishing seventh while he did not go past the semi-final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“I would love to win a major global medal and make sure that I am very successful in this sport,” the Commonwealth champion said.

Omanyala has a chance to end that medal drought when the 2025 World Championships is held in Tokyo, Japan in September.