Omanyala, Odhiambo renew rivalry in South Africa
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 11.03.25. | 08:49
The duo is building up for the World Championships in Tokyo later in the year
Africa’s fastest man in 100m Ferdinand Omanyala and his key Kenyan rival, former national record holder Mark Odhiambo are set to clash on Wednesday, 12 March at the ASA Grand Prix series, a World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meeting, at Pilditch Stadium in Tshwane, South Africa.
While Omanyala will line up as the pre-race favourite, he will have to dig deep to hold off challenges from his compatriot, as well as former South African 200m champion Luxolo Adams and 32-year-old Emile Erasmus.
Omanyala kicked off his season in Thika barely a fortnight ago, having elected to skip the Indoor season altogether, and his race in Tshwane will be a first on track as he ran his season-opening race at the Athletics Kenya (AK) leg on murram.
The duo is expected to lead the charge for Kenya’s qualification for this year’s World Championships in the 100m and 200m.
The qualifying standards are set at 10.00 for the shorter and 20.16 for the longer sprint.
Meanwhile, attention in the women’s competition will be on the middle-distance events.
In the 1,500m race, Prudence Sekgodiso will compete for the first time on SA soil this year, after lowering her own national short track 800m record to 1:59.88 on the European indoor circuit last month.
And a tight contest is expected in the 800m race, with Charne Swart looking to build on her impressive form after setting a personal best of 1:59.86 at an Athletics Gauteng North league meeting on the same Pilditch track earlier this month.
In field events, former world champion Luvo Manyonga continues his comeback to competitive athletics when he lines up in the men’s long jump.
He will need to hit his straps, however, against a field that also features Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Jovan van Vuuren.
