"I am that kind of athlete who really likes the hype," Ferdinand Omanyala said amidst laughter. He had just finished his race, walked to the mixed zone, and hugged journalists he knew, before letting out his cheat code for races to JoySports.

He blinked his eyes, dropped his head, and raised it. In all this, he did not stop talking. He continued, with his body moving left, before right -- a gesture accompanying the message he's sending across.

"…and when the event is built around the hype, it gives me the tension, and it gives me the adrenaline," the 26-year-old noted.

Omanyala indeed loves hype. On his Twitter page, he kept updating his followers on what was coming. With one hour to the race, he asked "…are you ready, team Kenya?"

https://twitter.com/Ferdiomanyala/status/1522938615218810881?t=gjDFO4PgbLnElvdd-47JlA&s=19

He was ready to take to the tracks and needed those who provide the hype to let the atmosphere sink. It was a partisan crowd. A crowd here to cheer their man to success, and suffocate his competitors to death.

Standing alongside USA's Fred Kerley, an Olympic silver medalist in the Tokyo Olympics, the Africa 100m record holder dashed on the lane, to whooping cheers and rapturous applause from fans.

He knew what he was doing. To let the tension and the adrenaline work simultaneously.

Things don’t just happen. They are created. And Omanyala needed to create an atmosphere that drives him.

When he did, he captured the emotions of his people who were patriotic with their support and got entertained at the Home of Heroes.

He is a hero. He knows it, and says, he wants to leave a legacy. 

"I want to leave a legacy. I am here to show the world that Kenyans can sprint."

Just a couple of minutes earlier, he was almost on the verge of not leaving a legacy before his people as the stadium went dead. Fears and anxiety which were palpable grew among devotees of this beast of the track as athletes were called back when the gun was yet to be shot, but they took to their heels.

The fear was one: a false start which could lead to the disqualification of their prized asset. Moments later, all athletes were shown a green card, a representation of a faulty start and not a false start. Sigh of relief as fans cheered.

When the gun was finally fired for this never to be forgotten meet, Omanyala, who had the fastest time (9.77) in this contest, took an unassailable lead. There was a first stride, a second, a third, and so on.

With about 43 strides, he crossed the finish line. It was not a photo finish though Kerley was close.

The stadium erupted. If there was a roof on this cathedral, it would have been completely uprooted. The clock read 9.85(2.0m/s).

Ecstasy unconfined. The name Omanyala was breathing through the stadium speakers.

President Uhuru Kenyata stood on his feet. His wife followed. His cabinet members present could not be left out.

It is not this local hero's best time, but it is still a win. A win they wanted, a win they got. An outcome that whets their appetite. And they celebrated without borders.

"…that's something I love and I hope all the other competitions it is going to be the same as they did here [in Kasarani]," he says of the expectations.

Fred Kerley, a man many feared could spoil the party when Olympic champion, Marcell Jacobs, pulled out due to a stomach problem did 9.92 while Isaiah Young, also of the USA managed 10.13. Brunt Jese Hendricho (10.13) of South Africa and Matidi Emmanuel (10.14) of Liberia.

Women's race

When World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce arrived in Kenya, the Nation Africa website had a headline that read:

"Open the way Nairobi, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is in town."

Fraser-Pryce indeed was in town and Kenyans opened the way. Her presence reverberated every corner she went before taking to the tracks. She was welcomed by her lovers who had branded shirts "Fraser Pryce."

And when she took to tracks to compete for the first time on Kenya soil, the cheers were deafening. At 35, Fraser Pryce's long successful career is at its twilight, but she thrilled the thousands of fans at the Home of Heroes with a 10.67 (-0.4m/s) run.

It was a run that was celebrated as if she is a local. It was a run that was not only a meeting record, but it was also a Kenyan all-comers’ record and the fastest ever season opener of any 100m sprinter in history.

She moved from one end of the stadium to bow before these adorable fans in acknowledgement of their support.

“It was very good, the atmosphere was fantastic,” said Fraser-Pryce.

“I’m not sure if it was perfect – I’d have to see the replay. But the time tells me that my training has been going great,” she notes after clocking her third sub-10.7 run within 12 months.

Olympic 200m silver medallist Christine Mboma could not complete the race as she pulled what appeared to be a sprain. She was later seen on crutches.

Egypt’s Bassant Hemida set a national record of 11.02 in second. USA’s Shannon Ray was third in 11.33.

It was a platform for heroes and heroines to be made at the Home of Heroes, and they indeed emerged with Omanyala and Fraser Pryce leading the 'celebration of athletic excellence' as the event was tagged.

Kasarani is much noted for this excellence, and the people, who drink and eat athletics are special with their adoration of the sport.

Elsewhere, Canada’s Aaron Brown won the men’s 200m in a wind-assisted 20.05 (2.1m/s) and Niger’s Aminatou Seyni took the women’s event in a national record of 22.43 (-1.0m/s). Britain’s Laura Zialor won the high jump on countback from Ukraine’s Oksana Okuneva, both women clearing 1.91m.

Emmanuel Wanyonyi, returning to the scene of his world U20 triumph, took to the front of the men’s 800m field in the final 150 metres and went on to win in 1:45.01.

One of the most surprising performances of the day came from South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso, who won the women’s 800m by a huge margin in a lifetime best of 1:58.41

The 20-year-old’s PB before the race was 2:01.40. Kenyan duo Mary Moraa and Naomi Korir finished second (1:59.87) and third (2:00.06) respectively, the latter setting a PB.

Note: Last three paragraphs of this piece were written by World Athletics.

Full results are in the link below.

https://kipkeinoclassic.co.ke/schedule2022.php