Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, is set to go head-to-head with the 2024 Paris Olympics 200m gold medalist, Letsile Tebogo, in a star-studded lineup at the Rome Diamond League on Friday.

Omanyala will be looking to redeem himself after a less-than-desirable performance at the Paris Olympics. The two athletes will meet for the first time in a year; their last encounter was at the Prefontaine Classic in September 2023, where they competed in the 100 meters event.

Omanyala has only finished behind Tebogo once, at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. The Rome Diamond League 100m race will also mark Tebogo’s first appearance in the distance since his sixth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The event will also feature other notable names, including this year’s Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson and former Olympic gold medalist Lamont Marcell Jacobs. Olympic bronze medalist Fred Kerley, the only man to beat Omanyala post-Olympics, and former World Champion Christian Coleman will also be competing.

Additional competitors include 22-year-old Jamaican sprinter Ackeem Blake, Japan’s Hakim Sani Brown, and former European champion Jeremiah Azu.

The Rome Diamond League will bring together some of the world’s top Olympic champions for the prestigious Golden Gala.

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