Tokyo Olympic 100m silver medallist, Fred Kerley seemingly mocked Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala after beating him at the Rabat Diamond League Meeting on May 28.
Kerley ran away with the Rabat in a time of 9.94 seconds to win the second leg of the lucrative World Athletics event, with South Africa’s Akani Simbine taking second spot in 9.99 seconds as Omanyala wrapped up the podium three places in 10.05.
The World U-20 100m champion, Letsile Tebogo from Botswana and the second-fastest man in the universe, Yohan Blake finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Omanyala’s 2023 season
Before the race, the Commonwealth 100m champion had boldly declared he was not losing any 100m races this season after a brilliant season kick off by winning Indoor 60m races as well as setting the National Record.
Ferdinand Omanyala 🇰🇪: I’m not losing any 100m race this year!😲👀
Really big talk again.The field at the Rabat DL on Sunday also includes:
🇺🇲 Fred Kerley
🇺🇲 Trayvon Bromell
🇨🇦 Andre de Grasse
🇧🇼 Letsile Tebogo
🇿🇦 Akani Simbine
🇯🇲 Yohan Blake pic.twitter.com/Lhp7Zk0My3— Oluwadare (@Track_Gazette) May 27, 2023
Omanyala won Athletics South Africa Grand Prix before the Continental Tour Gold Meetings in Gaborone and Nairobi, was usurped by Kerley, whom he beat in Nairobi last year at the Kipkeino Classic. Omanyala also took part in the Atlanta City Games in America, where he raced over the 150m distance where he led till the 120m mark and was passed by Noah Lyles and Erriyon Knighton to finish in third place.
Kerley’s remarks after Rabat race
The World 100m champion took to his social media handle, Twitter after the race with a cryptic post in reference to Michael Jordan’s famous line:
— Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) May 28, 2023
Fans online are convinced the message was targeted at Omanyala, with many calling Kerley out for boasting over such a slow time of 9.94 going by the quality of the athletes on the start line.
In the post-match interviews, the 28-year-old quipped that he was the best over the short distance.
“What do you say is the main reason you were the first one across the finish line?”
“There’s no one like me. I am different. Simple.”
– Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) pic.twitter.com/bPcBmkK9Cv— Travis Miller (@travismillerx13) May 28, 2023
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