With the World vs Olympic champion battle between Fred Kerley and Marcell Jacobs put on hold for the second straight Diamond League race after the Italian (Jacobs) failed to recover from the injury that kept him out of Rabat, the focus will now be on Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala’s bid for a second win in six head to head races against the American.
Omayala, the African record holder and Commonwealth Games champion ran 9.85 over a year ago at the Kip Keino classic to run past Kerley (9.92) to win the event in Nairobi.
Kerley has gone from there to be World champion in the blue ribband event and was the vcitor when they faced off for the first time this year at the Rabat Diamond League meeting, running 9.94 to win while Omanyala was third in 10.05.
Omanyala who holds the world lead at 9.84 which he achieved about two weeks ago at the Kip Keino Classics has vowed to go for the World title later this year at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary and knows he needs to win high profile races like Friday’s Golden Gala Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy.
2011 World champion, Jamaica’s Yohan Blake and South Africa’s two-time Olympic finalist, Akani Simbine will also be in action.
Simbine came second behind Kerley in Rabat and will be looking forward to getting his second win in seven races over the American.
