Coach Duncan Ayiemba revealed the behind-the-scenes challenges, including unexpected changes in Ferdinand Omanyala’s support team, that led to his disappointing performance in Budapest.
Thousands of fans waited for the moment of truth at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary but one of their favourites, Ferdinand Omanyala, failed to impress.
Ferdinand Omanyala had gone to the Hungarian capital to prove a point, chasing history for Africa but that was snatched from him in less than 10 seconds.
He ended up finishing a distant seventh in 10.07 seconds, missing out on the podium and his coach then, Duncan Ayiemba, has detailed the events that led up to the final of the event.
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Ayiemba revealed that before the heats, he was with Ferdinand Omanyala, doing their usual workouts and the Kenyan sprint sensation looked ready to soar.
He was off to a great start, finishing second behind Noah Lyles in 9.97 seconds before all hell broke loose. Ayiemba fell ill right after the heats and had to be admitted to a hospital and could not be there as Omanyala competed in the semifinal and final.
“In the heats, I was there…I was with him, and we did the training and warm-up we normally do with him. He went on to run a 9.97 behind Noah Lyles. It was a photo finish, so I expected the semifinal to improve,” Duncan Ayiemba told Athletics TV.
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“Unfortunately, that day I was admitted in Budapest, I fell sick and was taken to a military hospital somewhere there. I didn’t get the opportunity to see him run the semifinal and the final. I asked him if my absence there contributed to his poor performance.”
However, there is more than meets the eye since there was a physio lady that Duncan Ayiemba seemingly did not know about as they prepared for the championship.
The coach explained that he had warned Ferdinand Omanyala about bringing a new physio to the championship and sticking to the one he was used to but his counsel seemingly fell on deaf ears.
He revealed that he had only heard about the physio from different people but they had never met before up until he was discharged from hospital.
Ayiemba added that the previous physio always knew how to make Omanyala run fast but the new might have tampered with something that ruined his outing in Budapest.
“There was a physio lady there and I didn’t recommend him to come with her because we had our own. The new one did not know how to handle Ferdinand Omanyala’s case,” Ayiemba revealed.
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“The physios changed and it was on the day he was supposed to compete and we had never met but I was hearing people talk about her. That day there was a new physio and I was even surprised that he sneaked her into the championship because we had talked about it.
“I was uncomfortable and pissed off and when I asked him what had happened, he revealed that there was nothing.”
After the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, they were supposed to have a conversation and reflect on what happened but that never reached fruition.
Ferdinand Omanyala opted to completely change his team and started working with a new coach, Geoffrey Kimani, something Ayiemba has never understood to date.
