Disappointment for Ferdinand Omanyala and teammates as Kenya miss out on Olympic qualification at second time of asking.
Kenya will have to wait at least another four years to qualify for the Olympics in the relays in the 4 by 100m men’s relay as they had to settle for fourth place in the third heat of the second qualifying round at the World Athletics Relays in Bahamas.
The Kenyans, who had to change their strategy a little bit following their last place finish in the opening heat on Saturday, had to settle for fourth place, finishing on 39.15 seconds despite anchor Ferdinand Omanyala’s best efforts to try and close the gap with a split time of 9.12 seconds.
Mark Otieno ran the first 100m in a time of 10.87 seconds, before Mike Mokamba took the barton over in the initial stretch, completing his split at a time of 9.52 econds. Meshack Babu executed the bend in 9.64 seconds, before Omanyala tried his best to get his side into the top two, but it was not enough to get them to close the gap on Australia and Colombia, who finished second and third respectively.
South Africa won the heat, qualifying for the Olympics in the process with a time of 38.08, with Australia finishing second on 38.46.
There was not much to write about in the 4 by 400m relays either, as Kenya had to settle for fourth place yet again in heat one of the second qualifying round on 3.04.83.
They finished behind the United States and India, who secured qualification by finishing first and second respectively.
Meanwhile, Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana 4 x 1000 relay teams will be representing Africa at the Olympic games after they secured their tickets having missed out on qualification on the opening day of the tournament.
The Nigerian women’s 4x100m quartet, comprising Tianna Eyakpobeyan, Favour Ofili, Olayinka Olajide, and Tima Godbless, set the tone for African representation by clinching victory in their Olympic Round 2 heat.
Their electrifying run, clocking in at a Season’s Best of 42.71 seconds, not only secured their qualification but also edged out Switzerland for the top spot.
Following suit, the Ghanaian and Nigerian men’s teams ignited a fierce rivalry as they found themselves pitted against each other in the same heat.
Led by Joseph Paul Amoah, the Ghanaian squad, including Ibrahim Fuseni, Isaac Botsio, and Benjamin Azamati, delivered a commanding performance to clinch victory in an impressive Season’s Best time of 38.29 seconds. Not to be outdone, the Nigerian quartet of Udodi Onwuzurike, Consider Ekanem, Alaba Akintola, and Karlington Anunangba fought tooth and nail to secure the final qualifying spot with a time of 38.57 seconds.
However, the most remarkable feat of the day came from Liberia, as Joseph Fahnbulleh spearheaded his team’s historic qualification in the men’s relay event.
Despite starting from fifth position in his heat, Fahnbulleh’s breathtaking anchor leg propelled Liberia to a National Record time of 38.65 seconds, securing their first-ever Olympic qualification in the event.
