Africa Athletics Championship: Omanyala breezes to finals in Mauritius

Africa record holder over the 100m distance Ferdinand Omanyala stormed the final of the 22nd Africa Athletics Championships which kicked off on Wednesday in Mauritius after a stellar showing in the semis.

Omanyala clocked 10.07 seconds to finish first in the first of the three heats in the semis to book a ticket for the final set for Thursday starting at 3:10 PM EAT.

The speedster had the best time ahead of former African record holder Akani Simbine who won the third heat with a time of 10.09 seconds to also seal a final ticket where the two will square out.

Another Kenyan, Imeta Samwel finished third in the second heat with a time of 10.27 seconds but could not make it to the final as the second runners up in the other heats were faster than him.

To qualify for the semis, Omanyala had posted 10.05 seconds in the heats earlier and will be hoping to dip below the 10 seconds mark in the final on Thursday to continue his perfect start at the championship.

In the women's race, national 100m champion Maximilla Imali sailed through to the final after finishing third in the third heat with a time of 11.26 seconds but her compatriot and 2015 Africa Games 100m silver medallist Eunice Kadogo got eliminated at the semis after finishing sixth in the first heat, clocking 11.56 seconds.

In other disciplines, Elias Ngeny and Nicholas Kiplagat clocked 1:47.16 and 1:50.20 respectively to book their slots in the final of the 800m, finishing first and second in their respective heats.

Collins Omae and Seewua William also booked their tickets to the semis in the men's 400m after they both finished third in their heats clocking 47.60 and 45.67 seconds respectively.