Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala wins the men’s 100m final from defending champion Akani Simbine at the Commonwealth Games – as England’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake pulls up with injury
- Ferdinand Omanyala took the gold medal in the men’s 100metre final on Friday
- The Kenyan sprinter beat defending champion Akani Simbine of South Africa
- England’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake finished last after getting an injury mid-race
Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya has taken the gold medal in the men’s 100metre final at the Commonwealth Games on Friday.
The eighth-fastest man of all time over the distance clocked 10.02 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.
Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya has taken the gold medal in the men’s 100metre final on Friday
The sprinter clocked 10.02 to win comfortably ahead of defending champion Akani Simbine
Omanyala recovered brilliantly from setbacks in July which saw him suffer visa issues before the World Championships.
Those problems meant he arrived in Oregon, US, just hours before his 100m heat before being knocked out in the semi-final.
He said: ‘I came here with the sole aim of winning the gold and in the final it was a case of controlling the race from the start.
Englishman Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (above) seemed to suffer a hamstring injury mid-race
‘Once I got a good start I knew I would win the gold. When I crossed the line I felt like jumping for joy.’
But English star Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake heartbreakingly picked up a seeming hamstring injury during the race.
He managed to carry on but finished in last with a time of 11.10 after pulling up, grimacing and grabbing the back of his leg.
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