NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 2 – African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala easily pulled into Wednesday’s semi-finals of the men’s 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom, winning his heat in a time of 10.07secs.
Omanyala who arrived in Birmingham 10 days ago from his disappointing outing at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, looked fresher, fitter and more focused.
He exploded in the second half of the race just as he usually does and eased through the finish line ahead of Cameroonian Emmanuel Eseme, whom he helped to a personal best time of 10.08secs.
Omanyala’s easy time was the fastest in the preliminary rounds, which also saw defending champion Akani Simbine of South Africa also progress after winning his Heat in 10.10secs.
At the same time, Samuel Imeta also progressed to the semi-finals with a spirited run, finishing second in his heat in a massive new Personal Best time of 10.12secs.
In the women’s race national record holder Maxmila Imali progressed after finishing third in her heat, clocking 11.30secs, Jamaican Elaine Thompson Herah winning in 10.99secs.
The other Kenyan in the preliminary rounds Millicent Ndoro finished fifth, outside the automatic qualification slots after clocking 11.76secs.
