The reigning 100m champion at the 2026 Kip Keino Classic, Ferdinand Omanyala, finished second on Sunday behind Canada’s Jerome Blake at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix held at the National Stadium in Gaborone.
Omanyala clocked 9.95 seconds, just behind Blake, who won in 9.93 seconds. The Kenyan sprinter has shown steady improvement since starting his 2026 season in Addis Ababa with a 9.98 win, followed by victory at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi with a time of 9.96.
Omanyala will return to the same city and stadium for the World Athletics Relays Gaborone 2026 scheduled for May 2–3. He will headline Kenya’s men’s 4x100m relay team alongside Meshack Kitsubuli Babu, Dennis Mwai, Elkana Sabila, Moses Onyango Wasike, and Samuel Chege Waweru.
Kenya’s men’s 4x400m relay squad includes Danson Kibet, Eric Kimathi, Erastus Mbaluka, Dennis Masika Mulongo, Kipkorir Rotich, and Joshua Wanyonyi.
Omanyala and his teammates are among 723 athletes from 40 nations entered for the event. Teams will compete not only for relay honors but also for qualification spots for the World Athletics Championships Beijing 2027 and this year’s World Athletics Ultimate Championship.