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Ferdinand Omanyala humorously recalls how, despite feeling intimidated at his first-ever athletics event, he still surprised himself.
Ferdinand Omanyala has hilariously recounted his first-ever athletics outing and how he miraculously ended up beating the ‘big boys.’
The Africa 100m record holder revealed that he knew rugby would be his forever event as he was making waves in the sport. However, one individual who had observed him for quite some time challenged him to try out sprinting.
Never in his wildest dream had Ferdinand Omanyala ever thought about competing in sprint events but he decided to give it a try. Through guidance, he went and checked out the athletics roaster in 2016 and signed up for the men’s 100m event in Mumias.
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20:45 - 02.12.2024
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After arriving there from Nairobi, Ferdinand Omanyala revealed that he could not help it but feel intimidated since it was his first time running on the track and his opponents were seasoned runners. They looked like they were ready for the challenge, but were they?
“This guy approached me one afternoon and told me I wasting my speed there (rugby) and I should go try athletics. In my entire life, I have never thought about being a Kenyan sprinter so I talked to this guy and he told me everything and I went back to the hostels,” Ferdinand Omanyala said as per Roll and Take productions.
“I then downloaded the calendar of events for Athletics Kenya and then looked up at the events, which are free, you just show up and run. I went to my first meet in 2016 in Mumias someplace uptown and getting there, there was so much intimidation because you see all these guys have been seasoned sprinters getting out of buses in Kenyan kits and sheds.
“Remember, I was a first year, I had never done this before. I was not comfortable wearing those kits and I was going in with my rugby gear.”
Ferdinand Omanyala revealed that his father had just bought him a new set of running gear and he could not afford to withdraw from the race on the D-day. The Commonwealth Games champion decided to show up for the challenge and he won the race, revealing that it was also a surprise to him.
He pointed out that winning the race was a confidence booster for him and from then, he believed that he was unbeatable. He has faced a series of challenges as a sprinter from Kenya but Ferdinand Omanyala remains a source of inspiration to many.
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11:30 - 03.12.2024
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“I was there and was asking myself about how I had come from Nairobi and my father had just bought me my first pair of kits and I could not chicken out at that point. I went up to the starting line and I won my first ever athletics event in Mumias. That really build up my confidence and I got into that mentality that no one could ever beat me,” he added.
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