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The American sprinter has put Omanyala and co on notice as the countdown to the World Championships begins
World 100m champion Fred Kerley has put his rivals on notice as he looks to defend his title at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary this month.
Kerley is seen as favourite for gold but he will come up against a formidable challenge from two-time 200m world champion Noah Lyles and the African contingent of Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, Akani Simbine (South Africa) and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
The American sprinter, who recognises that defending his title will be an uphill task, is drawing strength from throwing jibes at his rivals, a tactic he hopes will give him the edge in Budapest.
“The first one, they said, is the easiest one. The next one’s the hardest,” Kerley told Athletics Weekly.
“Truthfully, I enjoy talking s**t to other people. Anybody that knows me, [will tell you] that’s me on a daily basis. Track and field brings a different edge out of me and I’m a very competitive person so it’s easy for me to do that – I can just keep going all day, every day. The competitive side of me comes out and I can bring fire right back.”
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08:29 - 22.07.2023
ATHLETICS 'I will be the next world champion' - bullish Omanyala says after Monaco win
Omanyala secured his first win in the Diamond League after narrowly defeating Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo.
Omanyala has already been on the wrong side of Kerley this season, finishing third at the Rabat Diamond League behind Simbine, with the American winning the race before improving to second place in Florence when the world champion also won.
The African champion, who also finished second in Paris behind Lyles, before winning his first Diamond League race in the absence on Kerley in Monaco last month, has insisted he is not intimidated by the American or the stellar 100m cast expected in Budapest.
“I’m also a big boy, we are going to do what we’ve been doing before. We’ve been in the Diamond League series and I’ve been competing with people I’ll be competing against at the World Championships,” Omanyala said last month.
“I’ve seen some have already pulled out of the event. I will be going for nothing but gold when I take on my opponents.”
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04:50 - 10.07.2023
ATHLETICS: 'I'm also a big boy'- bullish Omanyala slams the gauntlet at Kerley and co ahead of Budapest duel
At the World Championships, he will clash with some of the other 100m greats including defending champion Fred Kerley.
Kerley also showed that he is beatable when he was handed his first Diamond League defeat by Simbine in Silesia, Poland last month, the South African claiming his second straight win, after storming to victory in Stockholm while Tebogo has finished second and third in Monaco and Paris respectively.
Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, who would have spiced up the race even further, withdrew from the World Championships in June due to an injury.
No African runner has ever won a medal in 100m at the World Championships.
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