Elite Indoor Track Miramas Meeting: Omanyala blazes to victory, triggers Kenyan record haul in France
The Stadium Miramas Métropole in France hosted the Elite Indoor Track Miramas Meeting on Friday, 2 February 2024, where the 60-metre dash final saw three African athletes take the top three spots.
Ferdinand Omanyala, the fastest man in Africa over the 100 metres, emerged victorious, inspiring his fellow African athletes, Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon and Arthur Cissé of Côte d’Ivoire to finish in second and third place, respectively.
The 28-year-old Kenyan shattered his national record of 6.54 seconds, which he had previously set at the Arena Stade Couvert, Liévin in France last year, by two one-hundredths of a second, with a lifetime best of 6.52 seconds over the 60 metres.
🇫🇷 Elite Indoor Track Miramas Meeting (#WorldIndoorTour Silver) Winners.#Athletics #TrackandField 🇫🇷 #Miramas @WorldAthletics pic.twitter.com/88WVgbsw5p
— Athletics Central (@Athletics_Cntrl) February 3, 2024
This outstanding performance not only places him among the top ten all-time performances in Africa but also makes him the third-fastest athlete over the distance in 2024.
Eseme also set a new personal and national record of 6.61 seconds, breaking Victor Zock Bouopda’s previous record of 6.70 seconds, which had stood since 2002 while Cissé finished closely behind in third place with a time of 6.62 seconds.
It is worth noting that Ferdinand Omanyala is set to participate in the Meeting Indoor de Paris on February 11th, making his next appearance on the track.
