Ferdinand Omanyala has already promised to run an African record in the men’s 100m as he looks to improve his own 9.77 from Nairobi in 2021. Having clocked 14.89 for 150m in Atlanta last weekend – the fastest time by an African athlete over the distance – and as he remains unbeaten this year in the 100m, an event in which he ran a wind-assisted 9.78 (2.3m/s) to win in Botswana, fans should take his words seriously.
However, he will face formidable opponents that include USA’s Olympic and world 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek, who finished third at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix behind Omanyala and Botswana’s rising talent Letsile Tebogo. Also in the mix are USA’s world 100m silver medallist Marvin Bracy-Williams and Canada’s Jerome Blake, who was part of the Canadian men’s 4x100m team that won the world title.
Another Canadian from that world title-winning 4x100m team, Aaron Brown, features in the men’s 200m event as he takes on Israel’s Blessing Akwasi Afrifah, who won a thrilling head-to-head against Tebogo at last year’s World U20 Championships, plus Botswana’s Isaac Makwala, Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh, Australia’s Jake Doran and USA’s Kyree King.
The women’s 200m will feature USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson, who ran a world-leading 10.76 for the 100m at the recent Diamond League meeting in Doha. Alexandra Burghardt, who was part of the German 4x100m team that won the European title last year, and Kyra Jefferson, the Pan American champion and three-time NACAC and NCAA champion, will be there to ensure it won’t be an easy race for Richardson.
As Kenya is well known for its middle and long-distance track runners, most of the events in this category are loaded with local talents and a few other stars from Ethiopia, Uganda and the rest of the region.
Emmanuel Wanyonyi returns to defend his 800m title against a strong field that includes Wycliffe Kinyamal, who finished second at the Doha Diamond League meeting last Friday. The 2021 world U20 champion helped Kenya’s 4x2km mixed relay team to win gold at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst in February, racing a distance that is more than double his specialism.
The 18-year-old is yet to open his track season and it will be interesting to see how he will perform against the competitive field assembled for the event on Saturday. His rivals include 2019 world 1500m champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who will be stepping down to the 800m after participating in the 3000m in Doha. Another one to watch out for is Olympic silver medallist Ferguson Rotich.
Kenya’s Moraa has already got the World Championships qualification time for the 400m after she won the last Continental Tour Gold event in a national record of 50.44. Her focus will shift to her specialist event, the 800m, at the Kip Keino Classic.
The world bronze medallist from Oregon will face formidable competition from the defending champion Prudence Sekgodiso of South Africa, who ran a personal best of 1:58.41 to win the race last year, as well as Ethiopia’s Habitam Alemu, who has a PB of 1:56.71, and Netsanet Desta, the African silver medallist.