Omanyala and Simbine geared up for 100m showdown

Sunday will see six African athletes bidding to become the first man from the continent to claim a World Championships gold medal in the 100m.

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The first races of the afternoon session will be the 100m semifinals, starting at 4.35pm while the final will be contested later in the evening at 7.10pm.

The fastest African sprinter in the world so far this year is Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran 9.84 seconds in Nairobi in May. He finished second in his heat behind American Noah Lyles in Budapest on Saturday in 9.97.

Speaking after the race, he said: “Tonight's race was about feeling the track and I really enjoyed my race. It was funny to face Noah Lyles in the heat. He is a great competitor and every single race against him is a new experience. On the other hand, I always focus on myself.

“Earlier I said that my aim is to win this championship and I now feel my body is ready. Today, I was like a bullet from the blocks and I'm going to go faster and faster in the next two rounds. Look at my arm. Do you see 9.66 on my wristband? That is my aim for this season.”

Challenging him all the way will be South Africa’s Mr Consistency, Akani Simbine, who has come heartbreakingly close to clinching a medal at a major championship on several occasions. He won his heat on Saturday in the same time as Omanyala of 9.97 seconds.

“I really wanted to win my heat to build up some confidence,” said Simbine. “This year we could see that the top 20 runners are very close to each other so it is unpredictable who will win the final. Maybe the one who sleeps the most before or the one who has the best breakfast that morning. We will see but it will be exciting.”

Speaking about the African challenge in the 100m, Simbine added: "It’s good to have more Africans here. I’ve been calling for this, I’ve been saying for the longest time we need more Africans in sprinting and now they’re here so let’s show off Africa to the world."

Also in action on Sunday night will be Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who is bidding for double gold at these championships after setting world records in both the 1500m and 5000m this season.

The reigning world and Olympic champion won her 1500m heat on Saturday in a time of 4:02.62 and said afterwards: “I just wanted to qualify to the semis and enjoy it. I do not know about my tactics in the next one because I don't know how it is going to be.

“Let' s see - semifinals are sometimes slow, sometimes fast. I am just looking forward to it. I am expecting great things from myself. I expect to defend my title and run a beautiful race.

“Everybody here is going for the gold so it is going to be interesting to see what happens.”

The women’s semifinals will be run at 5.05pm.