Commonwealth Games 100m champion, Ferdinand Omanyala has appointed a new coach ahead of the upcoming 2024 season.
The Kenyan track sensation turned to experienced strength and conditioning coach Geoffrey Kimani to steer him to new heights.
Kimani brought the development to light in a statement on his social media pages on Tuesday.
“Back on track, and greatly honoured to take up the role of Ferdinand Omanyala's sprints coach through a busy 2024 season, culminating with the Olympic Games later in the coming year. Onto the hard work!” Kimani remarked.
Kimani further revealed that the Commonwealth Games and Africa 100 metres champion will kick off the 2024 season at the World Indoor Tour in February.
Omanyala's next big task will be at the World Athletics Indoor Championships slated for March 1 to 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Kimani takes over the reins from Omanyala's longtime tutor and ally Duncan Ayiemba whose fate is now shrouded in mystery.
Ayiemba is credited with honing Omanyala's skills since 2015. He single-handedly guided Omanyala to a historic feat at the 2021 Kip Keino Classic where the sprints star smashed the African record, after posting 9.77 to finish second behind American Trayvon Bromellin who won in 9.76.
Omanyala later opened a new chapter in the annals of history as the first Kenyan sprinter to storm the 100m semi-finals in his debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
He went on to tuck away the Africa 100m and 4x100m titles before lighting up the country with the coveted gold medal bagged at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Omanyala fizzled out to a disappointing seventh-place finish in the finals of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August.
Before the Budapest heartbreak, Omanyala made history as the first Kenyan to win a 100m race at the Diamond League after blazing to victory in the Monaco leg on July 21.
The bubbly athlete has been unusually quiet and intentionally kept off the limelight since his Hungarian debacle in August. Kimani was the strength and conditioning coach for Team Kenya during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
He has also previously served as the sprints and hurdles coach for Team Kenya at the 2015 World Championships.
He is a World Rugby strength and conditioning educator, and a sprints and hurdles lecturer.
He currently serves as a member of the Elite Athlete Performance Commission at the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K).
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