Kenyan sprint sensation Ferdinand Omanyala has qualified for the semifinals of the 100 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Omanyala clocked 10.08 seconds to comfortably win Heat Two of Round One on Saturday morning at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris.

Ali Chituru of Italy finished second in that race with a time of 10.12 seconds, followed by Germany’s Joshua Hartmann in third place at 10.16 seconds.

Omanyala, holding the second fastest time in the event this year (9.79 seconds), got off to a strong start. He maintained his lead, showcasing his dominance as the African record holder and justifying his World Athletics ranking as the fourth best 100 meters sprinter this year.

After the race, Omanyala stated, “Today is only the first day and I did not want to burn myself out. Today was just about introducing myself, having fun, and feeling the track. The real business is tomorrow.”

The 100 meters Round One featured eight heats, with the top three from each heat automatically advancing to the semifinals. The next three fastest runners also moved forward.

Top finishers from other heats included:

Heat One: Kishane Thompson (Jamaica) – 10.00s, Benjamin Azamati (Ghana) – 10.08s, Reynaldo Espinosa (Cuba) – 10.11s

Heat Three: Louie Hinchliffe (Great Britain) – 9.98s, Noah Lyles (USA) – 10.04s, Shaun Maswanganyi (South Africa) – 10.06s

Heat Four: Oblique Seville (Jamaica) – 9.99s, Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Japan) – 10.02s, Puripol Boonsoon (Thailand) – 10.13s

The semifinals and final of the 100 meters will take place on Sunday, August 4, at 9:05 pm EAT and 10:50 pm EAT respectively.

In other news, Kenya’s Vivian Kiprotich Chebet narrowly escaped elimination in the Repechage Round of the women’s 800 meters. Chebet qualified for the semifinals with a time of 1:59.31, the fastest among those who did not win their heats. She was relegated to the Repechage Round after finishing fifth in her initial heat on Friday.

Competing in Heat Four of the Repechage Round, Chebet led comfortably until the last few meters, finishing second behind Germany’s Matjie Kolberg, who clocked 1:59.08. Despite this, Chebet’s time was sufficient to secure her a place in the semifinals, set for Sunday, August 4.