| Real Name/Full Name | Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa |
| Nick Name/Celebrated Name: | Ferdinand Omanyala |
| Birth Place: | Bungoma County, Kenya |
| Date Of Birth/Birthday: | 2 January 1996 |
| Age/How Old: | 28 years old |
| Height/How Tall: | In Centimetres – 175 cm In Feet and Inches – 5′ 9″ |
| Weight: | In Kilograms – 82 Kg In Pounds – 181 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Brown |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Parents Name: | Father – Fred Omurwa Mother – Shikanga Omurwa |
| Siblings: | 5 |
| School: | Friends School Kamusinga |
| College: | University of Nairobi |
| Religion: | Christianity |
| Nationality: | Kenyan |
| Zodiac Sign: | Leo |
| Gender: | Male |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Girlfriend: | N/A |
| Wife/Spouse Name: | Amluv Lavesh Omanyala |
| Kids/Children Name: | Quinton Finn Omanyala |
| Profession: | 100m Sprinter |
| Net Worth: | $150,000 |
| Last Updated: | November 2024 |
Ferdinand Omanyala is a renowned Kenyan 100m Sprinter who has gained much popularity for his talent in the rarely won races in Kenya. He is currently the African record holder and 8th fastest man of all-time in the 100 meters after clocking a time of 9.77 on 18th Sep 2021 in Nairobi.
He is also the 2022 Commonwealth Games Athletics after clocking 10.02 secs becoming the winner of the 100m race on 3rd August 2022.
Kenya is known to produce high-profile and rated runners. Nevertheless, most runners from Kenya are known to succeed in long-distance races such as marathons.
Previously, he was a rugby player before his talent as a sprinter got noted. He took his new talent seriously upon noting it after which he commenced training. Here is a short biography and all details that regard Ferdinand Omanyala that you might need to know.
Biography and Early Life
Ferdinand Omanyala was born on 2 January 1996 in Bungoma County, Kenya. His full birth name is Ferdinand Omanyala Omurwa. He was born to his parents in which his father is known as Fred Omurwa while his mother is known as Shikanga Omurwa. Omanyala is a 3rd Born in a family of 5 boys
His mother, Shikanga indicated that his son commenced running while at a very young age while still a young boy. She noted that he usually was running at extremely high speeds.
Additionally, Omanyala also said that he always had his inspiration and motivation from Yohan Blake, a Jamaican sprinter. A dream that later came to pass in the year 2021 as he was looking forth to defeating the Jamaican at the Olympics.
Education
Ferdinand Omanyala had his primary education from the home area where he got raised at. After completing his primary education, he joined high school education where he studied at Friends School Kamusinga located in the Mt. Elgon region.
Omanyala joined Friends Kamusinga School in 2010. While in high school, he signed up for the school’s rugby team while he was in form 3, in 2012. He was an active participant in rugby games through which his speed always gave his team much success over other teams.
On completing his high school education, Omanyala was called to sign up for the Under-20 (U20) Sevens. However, he dropped his rugby career following a lack of trials scheduled in Nairobi.
Ferdinand Omanyala later joined the University of Nairobi where he pursued a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Physical Sciences.
Personal Life: Wife, Girlfriend, Kid, Son, etc.
Ferdinand Omanyala is married to his lover known as Amluv Lavesh Omanyala. Lavender Omanyala uses a short nickname as Amluv Lavesh on Facebook and Luv_di_lavi on Instagram. Amluv Lavesh is a female sprinter who also has a great interest in sports.
They are normally seen together in the gym and in exercise in their professional career. They both met in sports activities while in school. The couple is blessed with one kid known as Quinton Finn Omanyala. The family is always seen taking photos together as their share the joy of their love.
Professional Career
Early Career
Omanyala commenced his sporting career while in high school. This was in Friends Kamusinga School where he had much success. He joined the rugby team in his high school while in Form 3 in the year 2012. Following his amazing gameplay, he got noticed by the scouts who were from the national team.
Kenya Sevens Under-20 Rugby Team
After completing his high school education, Ferdinand Omanyala was called up to play for the Under-20 (U20) Kenya Sevens Team. He came for the trials in Nairobi though he later revealed that the trials never happened.
Following this, he had no choice but to drop his dreams of joining the Kenya Sevens Rugby team. One of his friends, having noticed his sprinting power, advised him to try out another sport in athletics.
Athletics Career
After giving up on his career as a rugby player, Omanyala commenced a career in athletics through which he joined several local races. His performance was outstanding through which he won in almost every local race he had.
Following his impressive sprinting ability, he attracted the attention of an athletic coach known as Duncan Ayiemba. Ayiemba helped Omanyala in a great way in perfecting his talent.
International Career
After having several successes and victories on local races, Ferdinand Omanyala got chosen in the Kenyan Team on the 2017 World Relays held in the Bahamas. In this first international race, he managed to be number 7.
Later, he was to compete in the World Games Universiade held in Taiwan. Nevertheless, Omanyala did not manage considering that he had a severe backache. This was the time that he received a prescription of painkillers which had some components of steroids he didn’t declare.
Ban from Athletics
Ferdinand Omanyala received a 14-month ban in August 2017 on testing positive for a prohibited substance by the Kenya Anti-doping Agency (ADAK). His coach, Duncan Ayiemba on the other hand received a 2-year ban on the same. As a result of this, he was disbarred from all athletic activities through the governing body of athletic activities in Kenya known as Athletics Kenya (AK).
During this ban period, Ferdinand took advantage of the time through which he trained till his return in the year 2018. On getting back to athletics after the ban, he got selected to join the Olympics team 2 times in 2019.
He was, however, not picked due to his injunction that was not yet over between him and AK. This was though some claiming that if he had a doping history, he would not represent Kenya. Nevertheless, Omanyala maintains his stand-in participating in the Olympics having served his ban appropriate.
Athletics Success
After a long time of training combined with the ban he had received from AK, Omanyala got featured in the second Athletics Kenya relay series on 23 January 2021 where he ran with a time of 10.11 becoming the fastest time in Kenya for a 100-meter race. This was however not recorded due to speed level.
He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics by clocking a time of 10.02 seconds which was his initial moment of coming into the limelight and gaining much popularity.
On 31 July 2021, Omanyala completed a historic record in the Tokyo Olympics through which he became the first Kenyan to qualify for the 100m semi-final race. In the race, he set a new record of 10.01 seconds and coming 3rd in the competition.
Ferdinand Omanyala later set his own personal as well as the national record on 14 August 2021 on the 100m race held in Pramtalstadion, Andord (AUT). In this race, Omanyala got his personal best in the 100m race with a time of 9.86
On 18th September 2021, Omanyala ran a 9.77 (+1.2 m/s) for his new personal best at the Absa Kip Keino Classic Continental Tour held in Nairobi, Kenya where he came in a close second place behind Trayvon Bromell of USA running the 2021 world-leading time of 9.76
Awards and Achievements
Ferdinand Omanyala has received several awards and prizes following his stunning performance. Most of the awards Omanyala has won are on local races. In addition to this, he has also won other races internationally though on the less popular races. His performance is expected to shoot as he focuses more on his own career. Some of the races he has won include the following;
- The White City Games in Oulu where he came first with a time of 10.06 seconds
- The Lahti Motonet Grand Prix where he came first with a time of 10.09 seconds
- In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he had an amazing performance clocking a time of 10.01 seconds.
- Commonwealth Games Athletics 2022 Winner clocking 10.02 secs
Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Ferdinand Omanyala in ’2024’
Ferdinand Omanyala has an estimated net worth of $150,000. He just commenced his professional career in athletics on a high note. With this, he is expected to receive much earning in the near future in athletics. He is dedicated to winning and always self-motivated hence having a great push to win.
Most of the earning of Omanyala currently come from the earning he makes from the races he is involved in. Though he hasn’t won a medal in the major races globally, he is expected to start securing his wins as he is a young and energetic guy.
Some Interesting Facts You Need To Know
- Omanyala got inspired by a Jamaican Sprinter known as Yohan Blake
- He loves taking Vegetables and Ugali as pointed by his mother.
- He is the African Record Holder in 100-meter Race
Ferdinand Omanyala is one of the most resilient sportsmen who never give in anyhow. He at some point faced a ban from Athletics Kenya (AK) which meant that he would never represent the country in athletics.
However, the passion and fire of participation in athletics never grew cold. He kept on dreaming of his success. Currently, he is among the youngest athletes who have a great promising future unlike the trend in the Kenyan athletes mainly producing long-distance athletes.