NAIROBI, Kenya, April 30, 2025 – Commonwealth Games champion Ferdinand Omanyala has been backed to inspire the national team to success at next month’s World Relays in Guangzhou, China.
Head coach of the team, Stanley Towet, says Omanyala comes equipped with experience and confidence that will rub off well on his teammates at the global competition.
“Omanyala has previous ran with Mweresa (Boniface) and Babu (Meshack) and we therefore expect to experience no issues on race day. He is currently in China awaiting this weekend’s Shanghai Diamond League,” Towet pointed out.
The African record holder for the 100m will be making his second appearance at the competition, following last year’s debut in Nassau, Bahamas.
Besides, Omanyala has represented Kenya at a number of competitions ever since he broke into the limelight in 2021.
They include the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 2022 African Championships (Reduit, Mauritius), 2024 World Indoor Championships (Glasgow, Scotland), 2022 and 2023 World Championships (Oregon and Budapest), 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 World Relays.
He has also been regular at the Diamond League, his last participation coming at last weekend’s opener in Xiamen in China where he came second in the men’s 100m after clocking 10.13.
Overall, Towet is determined to steer the team to a better result than last year when they came away with bronze.
They have been working hard at baton exchange, which has been Team Kenya’s Achilles heel for a while now.
“Handling of the baton has been a big issue for us for a long time, especially in the 4x100m but we are working to ensure that the baton flows smoothly from start to end. We have done numerous tests yesterday (Tuesday) and today (Wednesday) and I am comfortable with how each athlete has reacted,” the coach said.
Assisting him in this mission is a backroom staff composed of experienced coaches including Catherine Kagwiria, Thomas Musembi and Simon Riga with Edwin Kiptoo the physiotherapist, with Kennedy Tanui as the team manager
Ahead of the opening day of the competition on May 10, Towet is hopeful that they will travel to China in time to acclimatise to the environment.
“In addition, we plan to travel to China early to give ourselves an opportunity to try our (baton) handover on the race venue. This will ensure every one of our athletes understand where to be, what to do and at what time during their respective races,” he said.
Echoing his coach’s sentiments, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Boniface Mweresa says the time is nigh for Kenya to stamp their mark as one of the giants at the World Relays.
“This is my fourth World Relays and I am privileged to captain the team. Expectations are high since we have a very young team,” Mweresa said.
A five-star performance at the World Relays will earn Kenya passageway to the World Championships, set for Tokyo in September this year.
