African champion Omanyala to race in SA

The Kenyan will be the biggest attraction at the newly revamped Pilditch Stadium in the capital city.  The Commonwealth Games 100m champion is back in the country after racing in Potchefstroom and Germiston in the series in 2022.

"South Africa is like my second home. My manager [Marcel Viljoen] is here, and these are players that I get a good competition, quality competition. The Grand Prix are well organised, and televised. It's something that gets a lot of viewership, so I always prefer just to start out here. It’s on a higher altitude training and competition wise. It’s a place I will be picking every year to come and compete”, he told the media.

The Kenyan superstar was in Potchefstroom to watch his rival Akani Simbine defend his national 100m title two weeks ago. Omanyala is excited to race against the SA record holder with 9.84 in Tshwane. Last year, he defeated Simbine in the Grand Prix, African Championships, and Commonwealth Games.

"I appreciate the friendship between me and him. Track is track, we are here to do the work and when we get to the track its rivalry, no speaking, no talking. When you get to the blocks it's like war, but after that, we are good friends, we talk. 

“It's a good and healthy competition because anytime you want to give up you remember someone else's titles and you have to work even harder. One thing is we should not just be focusing on ourselves because we have the world to tackle, we have the World Championships, we have guys from America, we have guys from Jamaica, we have those guys to beat and bring the medals home.

“So as far as we are competing against each other, we have to look at what's more.”