NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 28 – Commonwealth Games champion Ferdinand Omanyala has revealed that he was not allowed to compete in select Diamond League races in the just concluded season, because he has previously served a doping ban.
The African record holder competed in several Gold and Silver Continental Tour events, but could not get his name on the startlist at the prestigious Diamond League.
“There are some Diamond League organizers who told us they couldn’t take us in because one of the requirements was that one must not have served a ban before. It was devastating because I was really looking forward to run the Diamond League. Two organizers told us we couldn’t get in,” Omanyala told Capital Sports.
He added; “We are however hopeful for next season because now things are changing and some legs will have the 100m races which they didn’t have last season.”
Omanyala won the Kip Keino Classic, after beating World Champion Fred Kerley at the Moi Sports Centre Kasarani and also competed in several Gold and Silver events across the world.
He now hopes a window of opportunity opening up for the prestigious League next season will offer him a chance to achieve one of his dreams; winning the Diamond Trophy.
“Next season I have two big targets; winning the World Championship and the Diamond Trophy. I believe I can do it because now I have the experience from this year and I also have a longer period of time to prepare. There are almost five months between when I start training and my first race of the season,” he says.
Omanyala adds; “This year I didn’t have such a long pre-season because I started training in mid-November and my first race was in February.”
The African record holder plans to hold a training camp in Italy where he says he found better facilities and a better atmosphere to prepare him for what might turn out to be a historic season.
Meanwhile, Omanyala picked his three best races in the just concluded season as the Commonwealth and African titles as well as his Kip Keino Classic victory where he clocked 9.86secs.
