Kenya's sprinting sensation, Ferdinand Omanyala, bagged the country's first gold medal in the ongoing Birmingham Commonwealth Games on Wednesday, August 3.
The eighth-fastest man of all time over the 100m distance clocked 10.02 seconds to win relatively comfortably ahead of continental rival and defending champion, Akani Simbine, of South Africa.
Sri Lankan sprinter Yupun Abeykoon finished a hundredth of a second behind Simbine to take bronze in a hotly contested finish, with Jeremiah Azu of Wales in fifth with 10.19 seconds.
Omanyala made history in 60 years, the last time Kenya won a gold medal in 100 metres at the Commonwealth Games.
He took charge of the race from the gun and with his traditional burst in the final 50m, it was nothing but a gold medal for the fastest man in Africa.
It is his first ever gold medal outside Africa having missed out at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indoor Championships and the World Championships last month, where he reached the semis in all competitions.
Omanyala expressed gratitude after the win, which has been long overdue owing to his stellar performance in previous competitions.
"For the glory and honour of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you so much for the support and the positivity," Omanyala stated on his historic win.
The Commonwealth gold is a massive reward for him especially after the woes that befell him prior to the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, where he arrived just three hours to his race.
The fatigue he had to endure saw him fail to get to the final, but has now underlined his status as the best sprinter in Africa at the moment.
He was knocked out of the Oregon World Championships finals after he emerged fifth in the semi finals.
Omanyala recorded 10:14 seconds during the race that took place on July 17.
The 100m champion came fifth after Oblique Seville of Jamaica who clocked 9:30 seconds, Marvin Bracy (9:93 seconds), Aaron Brown (10:06 seconds) and Favour Oghene of Nigeria (10:12 seconds).
