Kenya: "I Will Smash Him and We Will Have a Chat Later" - Omanyala Beams in Confidence Ahead of Blake Showdown in Ostrava

(file photo).

Nairobi — African 100m record holder Ferdinand Omanyala is beaming with confidence ahead of a showdown with his sprint idol Yohan Blake at the 61st Golden Spike Continental Gold Tour meeting in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Omanyala and Blake, a two-time individual Olympic silver medalist and the 100m World Champion from 2011 are the two highlighted athletes who are expected to star in the sprint in the North East City of the Czech Republic.

"I will beat him of course," a confident Omanyala told Capital Sport after his final training session at the Kasarani Annex on Tuesday.

The 26-year old Kenyan sprint star looked up to Blake while starting up in his athletics career and he now counts it a pleasure going up against him in a meet, and he is already relishing the fight.

"It is always a pleasure to compete against such talented athletes. Blake is a legend and has been in the sport for a long time and I looked up to him. But now, I am at the top and I will go and smash him then we have a chat later," a cheekily confident Omanyala stated.

He added; "I always say, they are people like us. They don't use petrol and we use blood. So I will always cherish a challenge against the best."

He says he has learnt to build his confidence over time, as he says that is always one step towards victory.

"Confession is possession and I have had this since the Olympics. I have been competing against the best. The first thing if you are to beat an opponent is if you are confident and that is something that I will always carry with me," he added.

This will be the second huge 100m race for Omanyala this season after winning the Kip Keino Classic Gold Tour event a fortnight ago, beating Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani.

He also ran three races at the Athletics South Africa (ASA) meets, where he won.

Before heading to Ostrava, Omanyala will run in two races, one in Germany and another in Italy as build up towards the Ostrava race.

"The first two races in Italy and Germany are not so competitive and will be good for me to build up with because I have come from one very competitive race. They will also be important for me because I don't want to stay long without competition as I prepare for the Africa Championships. By the time I go to Mauritius I want to be well prepared,"

He also says he is pleased with how his season has started, especially after setting a new PB of 9.85secs at the Kip Classic and believes this is a better foundation to his outdoor campaign compared to last season when his PB before the Olympic Games was 10.03secs.

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