Ferdinand Omanyala’s bid to become the first man to successfully defend a Commonwealth Games 100m title came to a stunning end on Tuesday, as the Kenyan sprint star crashed out in the semifinals under a steady Scottish downpour.
The 30-year-old, who arrived in Glasgow as the reigning champion and Africa’s fastest man, could only manage sixth place in his semifinal heat, finishing well outside the qualifying places needed to reach Wednesday’s final. It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the athlete who four years earlier had etched his name into the history books at Birmingham 2022.
Omanyala wasn’t Kenya’s only casualty on the night. Compatriot Meshack Babu also failed to advance, trailing home last in his own semifinal, meaning the East African nation will have no representative in the men’s blue-riband sprint final for the first time since Omanyala’s historic breakthrough.
The slick, rain-soaked track at Scotstoun Stadium proved a great leveller, upending the form book and catching out several fancied contenders. South Africa’s Bradley Nkoana, considered a genuine medal threat, was among those undone by the conditions, disqualified for a false start before he even got out of the blocks.
It fell to Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi to seize control of the night, powering through the wet to book his final berth emphatically, with Wales’ Jeremiah Azu also punching his ticket to the showpiece race.
For Omanyala, the defeat marks a painful contrast to his career-defining triumph on English soil, when he became the first Kenyan in six decades to claim Commonwealth sprint gold.
This time, a combination of treacherous weather and a stacked international field proved too much to overcome, closing the door on his hopes of making history as a back-to-back champion, and leaving Kenya to regroup without a finalist if once made Omanyala a national hero.
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