Omanyala will be ready for Paris Olympic Games, says coach Kimani

Ferdinand Omanyala's coach, Geoffrey Kimani, has defended his fifth-place finish during last Saturday's Absa Kip Keino Classic at the Nyayo National Stadium, and assured that the Africa 100m champion will be ready for the Paris Olympics. 

Kimani said they are working on a strategy that includes medical sports science like hypertrophy, physiology, and dietary to ensure the 28-year-old's body is in good shape for the Summer Games in July.

"Hypertrophy is deliberate planning of strength programmes to pack on lean muscle, it's not the case for Omanyala. Our work in the weight room aims to get him stronger and not bigger. Athletes and humans have varying body types namely Mesomorphs, Endomorphs, Ectomorphs," explained Kimani in regards to Omanyala's compact rounded body mass.

"These inform much on how training programs for their respective sports should look like. Omanyala is in the likes of past sprinters like John Regis. He took a regeneration break after the indoor season and is now building towards the outdoors. He just did his first 100m race in eight months and although the weather in Nairobi wasn't the perfect cocktail, all will be well," the tactician added. 

Kimani said they are working and exposing Omanyala to all sorts of physical and weather conditions to produce the "perfect running machine". 

"Omanyala is genetically predisposed with bulky muscles, therefore we are working to make him lean, but strong without hypertrophy training for body-builders or science of adding muscles to the body through the Perfect Rate Model or in a nutshell starting all over again after the world indoor season," said Kimani.

On Saturday, the highlight of the day was the men's 100 metres competition that saw America’s Kenneth Bednarek end Ferdinand Omanyala’s reign over the distance in the championship.

After a false start, Bednarek claimed the lead with 30 metres to go and went on to exact revenge against African record holder Omanyala, who beat him in the 2022 and 2023 editions of the competition.

Bednarek won in 9.91 seconds, followed by Liberia’s Emmanuel Matadi (9.99) and Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu (10.00). Omanyala came home fifth in 10.03, followed by his compatriot Mark Otieno (10.22).

Omanyala said there was still time for him to rectify a few things.

“We have three months to the Olympics, I have to really work hard,” said Omanyala. “Life teaches you a lot and this season we are doing things differently,” the Commonwealth Games 100m champion added. 

Sprints coach Stephen Mwaniki also believes Omanyala will spring a surprise in Paris. 

"There is a medical explanation to his fifth position as well as technical. He changed coaches and, according to statistics, Omanyala runs very fast in the early season. He is loading the energy back into his muscles after the World Indoor Championships where he finished fourth in a race won by American Christian Coleman and set a new national record. His coach cannot allow him to peak now. Everything is planned," said Mwaniki.