Kipyegon, Brume, Omanyala top list of African superstars heading to Rome to seal Diamond League final ticket
Olympic and Wanda Diamond League champion Faith Kipyegon, African Games and African Championships long jump champion, Ese Brume and the fastest man in Africa, Ferdinand Omanyala top the list of African track and field heavyweights heading to the Golden Gala in Rome looking to confirm their ticket to the Wanda Diamond League final in Brussels, Belgium next month.
Kipyegon, the five-time Diamond League champion, is currently 11th in the 1500m standings and will need another big win in Rome to move within the top 10 that will compete in the final.
The 30-year-old is returning to the place where she first broke the 1500m world record in 2023 as she also looks to build on her unprecedented Olympic success in Paris.
The Kenyan will go up against a strong field at the Stadio Olimpico, including in-form Ethiopian Diribe Welteji and Italian star Nadia Batocletti.
Another Kenyan that is aiming to seal a return to the Diamond League final is Omanyala who did not go past the semifinals in the 100m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics despite starting as the second fastest man in the world.
Omanyala seems to have returned to form after running 9.88 and losing to Fred Kerley by the narrowest of margins in the blue ribband event in Lausanne.
The 28-year-old is currently 11th in the standings with seven points and need to either win or come second like he did in Lausanne to stand a chance of picking one of the eight tickets on offer for the final in Brussels.
The Kenyan has two major obstacles in front of him securing a ticket to return to the final for the second straight year and he does not have to wish the two well.
The first is Kerley who ran 9.87 to defeat him in Lausanne. The American has 13 points and needs to finish sixth to secure a lane in the final.
The second is Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan who is eighth in the standings with 11 points. Like Kerley, the Japanese can also punch his ticket to the final if he finishes fourth, irrespective of where Omanyala finishes.
With the star-studded line up in Rome, Omanyala will feel a repeat of his 9.88 run in Lausanne or faster can get him within the top three while Sani Brown, on paper, looks good for a place in the last two.
For the Nigerian, Brume, a good leap, good enough to fetch her the top position will confirm her return trip to the final.
Majority of the athletes that could pose a problem for the 28-year-old Nigerian, especially the two that are on seven points, Agate de Sousa and Mitkova Plamena, as well as Xiong Shiqi on five points and the trio of Hilary Kpatcha Hilary, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Hoondema Pauline on four points will not be in Rome, the final qualifying meet for Brussels.
Other emerging African stars heading to Rome to seal their slots in the final are the Botswana duo of Bayapo Ndori who is currently ranked fifth and Busang Collen Kebinatshipi who is ranked seventh.
South Africa’s Pillay Lythe could also make the cut albeit he will not be in Rome.
The 21-year-old reigning World U20 champion has garnered 14 points to sit sixth in the standings and looks like he cannot drop below eighth, the final number needed for the final.
