Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN) runs a qualifying heat in the men™s 100 meter during the World Athletics Championships at National Stadium. Tokyo National Stadium. ©Imago

The Africa’s fastest man has admitted he’s only 85-90% fit ahead of Kishane Thompson’s 100m semi-final clash in Tokyo.

Kenyan sprint king Ferdinand Omanyala has reacted after booking his place in the men’s 100m semi-finals at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, despite a sluggish performance in the heats that has left Kenyan fans a bit uneasy.

The African record holder clocked 10.12 seconds to finish third in Heat 7, trailing South Africa’s Olympic silver medalist Akani Simbine, who won in 10.02, and Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, who finished second with 10.09.

Omanyala’s time was just enough to get him into Sunday’s semis, but he will now have to face one of the toughest lineups in Heat 2, which includes Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, American star Kenny Bednarek, Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, and Bahamian sprinter Terrence Jones.

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It means Omanyala must rediscover his explosive form if he is to make it into the final.

“I’m just good because you know, I have been struggling with that injury for the last couple of weeks so for me today just coming out and getting the finish line for it sort of blazing on its own so I’m happy,” he said.

The Kenyan admitted that the road to the championships has been challenging, having withdrawn from the 2025 Diamond League finals in Zurich due to hip, iliopsoas, and gluteal pain.

“Yes, let’s say we are at 85-90% that we will go for this championship and then we will focus on recovering going forward,” he noted, hinting that he is not yet at full strength.

Omanyala’s 2025 Diamond League season had already been stop-start — finishing second in Xiamen (10.13), slipping to ninth in Keqiao (10.20), and then bouncing back with stronger runs in Rabat (10.05) and Rome (10.01).

He also managed third at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi with 10.07. But now, on the world stage, he must summon his very best effort to advance.

Reflecting on the atmosphere inside the stadium, Omanyala said, “No, it was different of course because the last time we were here it was like raining because there were no fans in the field. Today it was electrifying and you know, I always love racing in these big stadiums and thanks to the fans who came out, they’ll enjoy of course.”

“ The African Sprinters have now stepped up to the big stage, nobody is secluding us”, Says Omanyala as he approaches the Semi finals with Caution.@Ferdiomanyala https://t.co/a81DZwCQ4W pic.twitter.com/7VDWTmEyBO

The 29-year-old will have to draw on that energy when he lines up against Kishane Thompson and the other sprinting giants on Sunday.

“First to believe that I’ve finished that race and then I’ll start thinking about tomorrow,” he said, underscoring his focus on taking things step by step.

Kenya will be watching closely as their sprint king attempts to reignite the magic that saw him set the African record of 9.77 seconds in Nairobi in 2021 — still the fastest time ever run on African soil.