The 2025 Diamond League season will conclude on August 27th and 28th, pitting many of the world’s best track and field stars against each other in the race to be crowned Diamond League champions.
However, in a statement, Omanyala confirmed he will not participate in the 100 metres final race slated for Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium in Switzerland, citing a nagging pain in his hip and around the pelvic area.
“Due to recent pain in my hip, iliopsoas, and gluteal muscles over the past few weeks, I regret to inform you that I will not be able to take part in the 2025 Diamond League Final,” Omanyala wrote on his social media pages.
“I am hopeful about my recovery and I look forward to being fully fit for Tokyo.”
The 29-year-old is one of 17 Kenyans to have qualified for Zurich, where top global athletes will fight for honours. Omanyala has been undergoing intensive training at a high-performance camp in Miramas, France, as part of Team Kenya’s concerted efforts to make an impressive showing on the world stage.
Omanyala kicked off his Diamond League campaign in April in Xiamen, China, finishing second with 10.13 seconds before slipping to ninth in Keqiao, People’s Republic of China, with 10.20.
Omanyala, who is the African record holder and the 10th-fastest man of all time in the event after clocking a time of 9.77 seconds on September 18th, 2021 in Nairobi, recovered in Rabat Diamond League with a 10.05-second run for second place.
He switched his Diamond League campaign to Rome, where he secured a third-place finish, and returned home to finish third at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, after clocking 10.07 seconds.
Faith Kipyegon to lead Kenyans in Zurich
The winner of each event at the Diamond League Final in Zurich will be named this year’s champion. However, there is more than prizes and bragging rights at stake.
Each champion will also earn a wildcard entry to September’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, although the final decision over whether they will board the plane to Japan lies with their national association.
The first day of the Diamond League Final (27 August) will see field athletes in men’s pole vault, women’s high jump, men’s long jump and men’s and women’s shot put compete on the streets of Zurich at Sechselautenplatz.
Despite Omanyala’s exit, some of Kenya’s athletes who will participate include Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, who will compete in the 800 metres men’s race at the Letzigrund Stadium. He will, however, face a difficult task in beating off Canada’s Marco Arop for the crown.
The other athletes include: Reynold Cheruiyot, Timothy Cheruiyot, and Phanuel Koech (1500m), Edmund Serem, Abraham Kibiwot, Simon Koech (3000m Steeplechase), and Julius Yego (Javelin Throw).
In the women’s event, Kenya will be represented by Faith Kipyegon, Nelly Chepchirchir, Susan Ejore (1500m), Agnes Ngetich, Beatrice Chebet, Caroline Nyaga (3000m), and Faith Cherotich, Doris Lemngole (3000m Steeplechase).
Omanyala holds the Kenyan national record in the 60m, and claimed Kenya’s first gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Kenyan to win gold in the 100-metre race in 60 years.
