| PHOTO: | Omanyala arrived in Oregon three hours before the heats due to issues with his Visa [Twitter] |
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By:
Standard Sports
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| Posted:
Jul,16-2022 02:33:32
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Africa fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala on Saturday morning finished third in heat 7 of the 2022 World Athletics Championships to qualify for the 100m semi-final in Oregon, US.
Omanyala, the third fastest man in the field this year, arrived in Eugene only a matter of hours before the heats after visa problems.
Unsurprisingly he did not look the best-prepared athlete in the field but scraped through as the third finisher of the final heat in 10.10.
Omanyala when he arrived in the US yesterday
He finished third behind Abdul Hakim Sani Brown who won the race in a season’s best time of 9.98secs with Australia’s Edward Osei-Nketia finishing second with a 10.08secs time on the clock.
The semis are scheduled for 4am tomorrow morning and Omanyala will be hoping to be fit for a place in the final.
Earlier, American Fred Kerley blasted out a warning that he, and the springy Hayward Field track, are in hot form as he blasted to a 9.79 seconds victory in the World Championships 100m heats, but Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs looked rusty.
Kerley had posted the year's leading time and a personal best of 9.76 on the same track when winning the U.S. trials last month and looks well-equipped to surpass that in the semi-finals or final on Saturday.
Italian Jacobs, the shock winner in Tokyo, has struggled with a thigh injury this year and though he equalled his season's best of 10.04 he trailed impressive Jamaican heat winner Oblique Seville (9.93).
Jacobs, who did not look comfortable crossing the line, was also shown a rare yellow card for being late to the call room.
Marvin Bracy, second in the U.S. trials, had got things underway with a 10.05, and though there was plenty of support for the home runners, it was a disappointing crowd with the 12,500-capacity stadium only around half-full for the opening evening session of the first World Championship held in the United States.
Trayvon Bromell, second-fastest this year and desperate to make amends for the Tokyo Olympics when he failed to make the final after entering the Games as favourite, also looked strong as he eased down early en route to a 9.89 time.
Defending champion Christian Coleman won his heat in 10.08 but Olympic and world bronze medallist Andre de Grasse, who has struggled for form all season, again lacked sharpness as he finished second behind him in 10.12
Botswana's Letsile Tebogo set an under-20 world record of 9.94 when leading home former world champion Yohan Blake in his heat, the 19-year-old also collecting a yellow card.
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Source:
The Standard
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