Cape Town - Who is the fastest man in Africa? Well, that accolade belongs to Ferdinand Omanyala, but South Africa’s Akani Simbine will challenge the Kenyan in tonight’s Athletics SA Grand Prix 4 meeting in Germiston.
Simbine is slowly returning to the track after missing out on an Olympic medal in the 100m final in Tokyo last year, where he finished fourth in a time of 9.93 seconds.
Italian Marcell Jacobs was the unlikely champion in a European record 9.80, followed by American Fred Kerley (9.84) and Canada’s Andre de Grasse (9.89).
Omanyala didn’t qualify for the final, having ended third in his semi-final in a then-personal best of 10.00.
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But on September 18 last year, the 26-year-old scorched to a sensational new African mark of 9.77 in Nairobi, where he finished second behind American Trayvon Bromell (9.76), and Omanyala broke Simbine’s 9.84 mark set in Hungary last July.
So, Simbine will hope to get his revenge and reclaim the continental record sometime this year, but it is unlikely to happen at the Germiston Athletics Stadium tonight.
The 28-year-old ran his first real competitive race in Potchefstroom last Wednesday in the 200m, and was expectedly far from his best as he clocked 21.08 seconds to finish way down the field.
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But it is all about building up for the African and world championships later this year, as well as the Commonwealth Games, which is when Simbine wants to be at his peak.
So, while Simbine is sure to be quicker in the 100m tonight than he was in the 200m last week, Omanyala is the favourite, having posted a good time of 10.11 to win in Potchefstroom.
“I hope it will not rain in Germiston so that we can give the fans value for their money,” Omanyala said in an ASA press release yesterday.
“I’m not focusing too much on Akani, but I want to race against the clock and run a faster time. We have to push each other to run a fast time. I am going head-to-head against the former African record holder.
“I am excited, and want to put on a great show for the supporters. My goal is to run 9.96 or 9.95 depending on the weather on the day.”
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And the good news is that the rainy weather is expected to clear by the time the 100m race takes place at 7.20pm tonight.
But while the Simbine-Omanyala clash should be the highlight of this evening’s meeting, the men’s 200m is also set to be a spicy race.
Not only is the in-form Clarence Munyai back in action, but he will also go head-to-head against fellow Olympian Gift Leotlela, Botswana’s Isaac Makwala and Eswatini veteran Sibusiso Matsenjwa.
Munyai is the SA 200m recordholder (19.69) and made a great start to his 2022 season with a quick 10.04-second time in the 100m a few weeks ago.
Leotlela had a superb Tokyo Games as he reached the 100m semifinals, but had to withdraw from the 4x100m relay team due to injury.
The shorter sprint is his favoured event, but he will look to get back into the action in the 200m ahead of the national championships in Cape Town next week.
On the women’s front, junior sprint star Viwe Jingqi will take on the seniors in the 200m. The 17-yearold matric pupil at TuksSport High School produced SA junior records in the 100m (11.22) and 200m (23.03) recently, and vowed to challenge the top sprinters in Germiston.
In the 100m, SA record-holder Carina Horn will look to build on her Potchefstroom victory (11.50).
@AshfakMohamed