In a blistering sprint at the punishing elevation of the capital Nairobi, Mark Otieno trailed Omanyala across the line in 10.05. The pair made history as the first Kenyan duo to qualify for the Olympics men's 100m. And in that period, he has gone from obscurity to a controversial figure in the sport before realizing his ambition during the Kenyan Trials for Tokyo 2020 in Nairobi last month. In 2017, the sprinter clocked a national record of 10.11 seconds, but Athletics Kenya (AK) failed to ratify the mark, saying the effort was wind-assisted. Following discussions between Olympics Kenya and AK, Omanyala was eventually permitted to compete at the trials after the athlete considered applying to race as an independent athlete in Tokyo.

Source: Standard Digital July 09, 2021 10:30 UTC