Kenya’s hopes of retaining the men’s 100m Commonwealth Games title came to a screeching halt on Tuesday, 28 July, after Ferdinand Omanyala and Meshack Babu both failed to progress beyond the semifinal stage in Glasgow, Scotland.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsRacing in difficult, rainy conditions, Africa’s fastest man Omanyala lined up in the second semifinal looking to book a place in the final.Serem reveals 20 calls from father before race spurred him to Commonwealth goldHowever, the defending Commonwealth champion could only manage a sixth-place finish, ending his title defence.The race was won by Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi, who stormed to victory in 9.94 seconds, while Welshman Jeremiah Azu secured the second automatic qualification spot after clocking 10.00 seconds.##NAJAVA_MECA_9868142##South Africa’s Bradley Nkoana, one of the pre-race contenders, was disqualified after a false start.Earlier, Meshack Babu’s campaign had also ended in disappointment after he finished eighth and last in his semifinal in 10.39 seconds, leaving Kenya without a representative in the men’s 100m final.Kenya’s 10,000m Commonwealth Games gold wait Continues as Diana Wanza settles for silverOmanyala had arrived in Glasgow aiming to replicate his heroics from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he etched his name into Kenyan athletics history.The Xiamen Diamond League winner clocked 10.02 seconds in the final to defeat South Africa’s Akani Simbine and claim the gold medal, becoming the first Kenyan in 60 years to win the men’s blue-riband sprint event at the Commonwealth Games.##NAJAVA_MECA_9868143##His triumph made him the first Kenyan to achieve the feat since Seraphino Antao won the 100-yard dash at the 1962 Commonwealth Games.This time, however, the challenging weather and a highly competitive semifinal field proved too much, bringing an end to Kenya’s quest for another Commonwealth men’s 100m medal.
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