Commonwealth Games 100m champion and Africa record holder Ferdinand Omanyala has confirmed he will make his much-awaited Diamond League debut in Rabat, Morocco on May 28.
The Diamond League season-opener is set for May 5 in Doha, Qatar and it is part of the 14 best invitational meets that make up the annual track and field athletics series.
Speaking in Gaborone, Botswana, Omanyala said his ultimate target will be winning the Diamond League trophy.
“I have invitations for Rabat, Florence, Italy on June 2 and Paris, France on June 9. I hope to get more invites towards the end of the season,” said an excited Omanyala.
Omanyala raced to a 9.78 dash during the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix ahead of local boy, double World Under 20 champion Letsile Tebogo, who clocked 9.91. However, his time could not be ratified as a world lead despite being the fastest this year, due to a tailwind.
Omanyala heads to the US for the Adidas Atlanta City Games before returning home for the Kip Keino Classic on May 13, where he intends to break his African record.
“I promised to break the African record at Kip Keino. I hope to get good competition. I want someone who will push me all the way because here in Botswana, when I got to 80m, I was like the race is done,” said Omanyala.
He added how he wants to be the first African to win the 100m gold medal when he competes at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August.
“My target is a sub 9.70. Looking at how things are going, I will achieve it. It has never happened in Africa and I want to achieve it. Budapest is a neutral ground for all of us.”