Commonwealth Games: Ferdinand Omanyala embraces rival Akani Simbine 'like a brother'

Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala credits rival Akani Simbine for inspiring him to beat the world's best.

The pair have pushed each other to lower the African 100m record to 9.77 seconds, and were separated by just three thousandths of a second at the continental championships in June.

A rematch is eagerly anticipated in Wednesday's Commonwealth Games final after they were second and fourth fastest in Tuesday's heats.

Simbine, 28, is the reigning champion.

The South African unseated favourite Yohan Blake on the Gold Coast four years ago.

"Yohan Blake was my biggest hero, my idol for a long time," Kenyan Omanyala, 26, told BBC Sport Africa.

"We have the same running style and almost everything about us is the same.

"Simbine showed us the way as Africans, so I have deep respect for him. It is nice to have had him come ahead of me and we have a great relationship - he is like a brother to me."

Omanyala won his Commonwealth heat in a time of 10.07, with Simbine clocking 10.10 as he also crossed the line first in his heat.

The pair will still need to navigate the semi-finals on Wednesday, with Sri Lanka's Yupun Abeykoon qualifying fastest in 10.06.

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

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