Two clubs that could tempt Ferdinand Omanyala back to rugby
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 03.11.24. | 14:00
Omanyala has always held a soft spot for rugby and will make a comeback once he retires from sprinting
Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala may be lighting up the track in athletics, but his passion for rugby is far from extinguished.
Before he found his stride on the track, Omanyala was a force to reckon with on the rugby field, playing as a winger with raw speed and agility.
Although he left rugby behind in 2016 to focus on athletics, two clubs remain close to his heart; Mwamba RFC and Impala RFC.
But why these clubs?
“I always admired Mwamba when I started playing rugby. Then before I made my major athletics breakthrough, I was already in contact with Impala’s coach because I wanted to play for them,” Omanyala told Mozzart Sport.
While he may have shifted his focus to athletics, he admitted that he has not fully closed the chapter on rugby. Omanyala has always held a soft spot for rugby. He will make a comeback once he retires from sprinting.
“I will play rugby when I retire from athletics,” he offered.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m champion remains optimistic that his return will add a fresh dimension to the game; especially the sevens version given his agility and speed.
“I will play sevens because I will still be fast. By that time, I trust I will be running 10:3 or 10:2 seconds. That is very fast on the pitch,” he averred.
Omanyala played the winger position at Friends School Kamusinga before taking up athletics at the University of Nairobi under the guidance of coach Duncan Oyiemba.
But what motivated the transition?
As a comrade at the university, Omanyala had to look for alternative options to earn some income. Given the financial difficulties associated with rugby in Kenya, particularly at the university level, the speedster considered athletics to support himself.
In 2016, he decided to give athletics a six-month trial; little did he know that his star lay in the sport.
“At first, my motivation was money. I decided to take a break from rugby after hearing about the financial benefits of athletics. I decided to do athletics for six months. Eight years later, six months have not ended,” the sprint maestro joked.
