Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala ran away with the 100 metres title at the inaugural Addis Ababa Grand Prix in Ethiopia on Saturday.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion over that distance clocked 9.98 seconds, finishing ahead of Chris Borzor (10.16) and Italian Ali Chituru (10.26).

It was the first time that Omanyala dipped under 10 seconds in 100m in 27 races. The last time the policeman had gone under 10 seconds was on August 25, 2024 when he ran 9.88 in Chorzow, Poland.

In Addis Ababa, Omanyala dominated his semi-final 10.11 before posting one of his best times in recent years.

Apart from the 30-year-old former rugby player, other sprinters in the top-five bracket in Addis Ababa were Kenyans Mark Otieno (10.27) and Samuel Chege (10.33).  The best five runners in the category went home with prize money of USD600, USD300, USD250, USD125 and USD75 in that order.

More than 70 athletes from around the globe converged in Addis Ababa for the one-day bronze level competition where Mercy Chebet settled for second place in 400m in 51.38, behind Bahraini winner Kemi Adekoya (50.28), while Nigerian Patience Okon wrapped up the podium places in 51.70.

From Addis Ababa, the next Gold level meeting – the Kip Keino Classic – will head to Nairobi on April 24,  before the Botswana Golden Grand Prix in Gaborone on 26 April and the Simbine Classic in Pretoria, South Africa, on 28 April.

Botswana will host the World Athletics Relays on May 2-3 in Gaborone.