Omanyala and World champion Lyles clock 9.85 seconds as Coleman wins 100m
Athletics
By
Washington Onyango
| Sep 17, 2023
African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala on Saturday night went toe to toe with World champion Noah Lyles as they both clocked 9.85 seconds in a photo finish at the 100m finals at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.
Both stars finished behind former World champion Christian Coleman who sprinted to a world-leading 9.83 seconds in front of home fans.
Omanyala was off the blocks pretty quickly but he could not match Coleman's pace as the American held on to finish first as Omanyala who thought he would be second was caught up by Lyles who made a dip to spoil the party for the African champion.
Jamaica's Thompson Kishane, 22, finished behind Omanyala, clocking 9.87 seconds.
The 9.85 seconds finish for Omanyala is an improvement following a disappointing a seventh place finish at the World Championships in Budapest.