While the hype around Noah Lyles meant all eyes were on the NoJo, his fellow teammate Fred Kerley proved himself to be Mr. Dependable in Paris, bagging his second 100m medal in his second Olympics. While Kerley dropped to bronze from silver in Tokyo, he upset favorites such as Oblique Seville, Akani Simbine, and other phenoms in the fastest 100m race in history. Now the 29-year-old has taken a verbal jibe at Africa’s fastest man.

The Paris Olympics bronze medalist was the latest athlete to grace Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green’s podcast, Ready Set Go. During the show, Kerley said he would one day take Gatlin’s place as the fifth-fastest sprinter of all time. “I want to say I’ll retire him (Justin Gatlin),” from the list of top five all-time greats, claimed Kerley. However, that’s when co-host Rodney Greene mentioned Kenyan sprinting icon Ferdinand Omanyala.

“Oh, shoot! but I think Omanyala’s got that covered,” joked the veteran sprinter. Greene referenced one of Justin Gatlin’s final races of his career. On September 18, 2021, Ferdinand Omanyala emphatically defeated Justin Gatlin at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. This incredible feat was a sweet redemption for Omanyala, who had to settle for second place behind American Trayvon Brommel, who won the race in 9.76 seconds.

Fresh off his semifinal appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Omanyala had set his sights on beating Justin Gatlin. But it turned into a showdown between him and Brommel, leaving Gatlin in third place with a time of 10.03 seconds. “All of a sudden, I see this blur over my peripheral just riding. I had never seen somebody pass me so fast in my whole career… I was like, yeah, that is my last race. I am retiring after this.” Gatlin had said in 2021. However, Fred Kerley had a different opinion about Omanyala.

“Them races in Ken(ya) don’t really count,” said the U.S. track and field star. And while Green said Omanyala would get “mad” at such a statement, Kerley shrugged it off. “I don’t really care, but he already knows what it is. I run fast everywhere. I don’t run like they said, ‘We only run fast on home soil,'” the 29-year-old Kerley said in a bold statement. “I ran 19 outside of soil; I ran 43 outside of soil…” added the Olympian.

With this statement, Fred Kerley vouched for his consistency of running sub-20-second 200-meter and sub-44-second 400-meter races. Although some may find a hint of overconfidence in Kerley’s challenge, the sprinter seems well aware of Ferdinand Omanyala’s woes on the international stage.

Why Fred Kerley was so confident in proclaiming himself faster

On September 18, 2021, Ferdinand Omanyala became the fastest man in Africa after leaving Justin Gatlin in the dust. While Gatlin finished in a distant third place with 10.03 seconds on the clock, Omanyala had smashed the national record, running 100 meters in 9.77 seconds. Unfortunately, Kenya has struggled to replicate that success outside the African continent.

On July 15, 2024, Ferdinand Omanyala generated massive hype after running a 9.79-second 100-meter spirit on home soil. However, the 28-year-old fumbled inside Stade de France during Paris 2024, failing to qualify for the 100-meter finals with a 10.8-second finishing at the semi-finals. So it’s no surprise that Fred Kerley feels confident in challenging the two-time African champion.

Kerley’s comments on the Kenyan sprinting star could be added to the list of some of his other recent, controversial comments. However, surprisingly, it was the man who Ferdinand Omanyala beat in 2021 who defended the sprinter in August. “Listen, everyone has their challenges. If he can do it there, then he has to work on doing it in the Championships outside the continent of Africa.” Gatlin said in an episode of Ready Set Go.

“Once he does that, he has got it,” the former athlete added after Omanyala’s poor Paris Olympics performance. Yet, what do you believe? Do you agree with Fred Kerley’s assessment of Ferdinand Omanyala? Let us know in the comments.