Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala will face a major test on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, during the fourth leg of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League, the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea.
The Kenyan sprinter has run sub-10 seconds five times this season, apart from his season opener in Stellenbosch at the Cape Milers Club on April 11, where he clocked 10.10.
His sub-10 campaign began at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix on April 15, where he won in 9.98. He then reclaimed the Kip Keino Classic on April 24 in Nairobi with 9.96, before finishing third at the Botswana Grand Prix two days later in 9.95.
On May 16, he placed second in a photo finish behind Gift Leotlela at the Shanghai Diamond League, clocking 9.98. On May 23, he recorded a season-best 9.94 to win the Xiamen Diamond League—his fifth sub-10 run of the season.
The Rome race will pit Africa’s fastest man against a strong field, including American Jordan Anthony, the current World Indoor 60m champion; Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, the Olympic 200m champion; and American Noah Lyles, the Olympic 100m champion, who will open his Diamond League season in Rome.
Also in the lineup are South Africa’s Akani Simbine, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme—the reigning African 100m champion from the recent African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra—Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake, and Britain’s Jeremiah Azu, who won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.