Italy and Kenya run arm in arm and...they run very fast!
At the Absa Kip Keino Classic athletics meeting in Nairobi, at the Kasarani stadium, the 100 and 200 meter plans were won respectively by the Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala and his Italian colleague Filippo Tortu.
For the Kenyan boy this was a further step forward in his astonishing career, after having surprisingly qualified for the final of the recent Tokyo Olympics.
Omanyala, in front of his President Uhuru Kenyatta, ran in 9.84 seconds, pulverizing the continental record, held for years by the South African Akani Simbine, as well as beating the national record he already held. So now a Kenyan is the fastest man in Africa, anything but "pole position"!
In addition, Omanyala had the satisfaction of beating his personal idol, two-time American world champion Justin Gatlin, who came third in the Kenyan competition which is part of the international "Gold" circuit.
Omanyala's is the second best time ever in 2021, also favored by the 1600 meters of altitude of the Kenyan capital and a good wind in favor.
"I felt I could go faster - Ferdinand told the media - I had felt a little pain in my groin during the warm-up so I wasn't sure if I could run fast, but I'm happy with how my body responded. I still have a lot to improve and I will."
The happiness of the Kenyan runner was matched by the excellent performance of Italian athlete Filippo Tortu.
Gold in the 4x100 Olympic relay in Tokyo together with Lorenzo Patta, Fausto Desalu and Marcell Jacobs, Tortu recorded the second best Italian time ever, after Pietro Mennea's legendary 19.72 in Mexico City, not by chance another city in the mountains. Curiously, just before the start of the Nairobi race, Tortu, like Omanyala, was about to give up due to an intestinal problem.
Taking advantage of a decidedly favorable wind, but just below the limits of homologation, the financier from Milan arrived third but clocked a 20.11 which is really worth a lot in the future.