Two Diamond League meets in 2026, and America is still waiting for someone to fill the void Noah Lyles left behind. After all, Lyles was impeccable in the 2025 DL as he walked away with a record sixth DL title of his career. Yet with no Lyles, it has meant no wins. First at Shanghai and now in Xiamen, Kenyan rival Ferdinand Omanyala and South African Gift Leotlela dominated the one-two spots.

The Shanghai DL meet saw Leotlela continue his great form, translating it into a superb 9.97 run in the 100m to claim the title. Kenyan Omanyala was not far behind (9.98), with Americans Kenneth Bednarek and Trayvon Bromell in third and fourth, respectively. Then, in the Xiamen DL, everything switched around. This time, Omanyala finished first with 9.94, comfortably beating Leotlela (10.00) for the win.

Meanwhile, Bromell and Bednarek finished third and fourth with 10.03 in a photo finish. It marked the continuation of a remarkable season for the Kenyan sprint star. After all, the 30-year-old has been on an absolute tear in 2026, flying past competitors at will. To put that in perspective, the Shanghai DL marked only the third time he hadn’t finished first in eight races.

In fact, since he made his outdoor season debut, Omanyala hasn’t finished outside a podium spot. That includes multiple wins at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix, as well as third-place finishes at the Botswana Grand Prix and the World Athletics Relays. He also opened his outdoor season with a 10.19-second race in the 100m during the Cape Continental Tour before breaking sub-10 a few weeks later.

That happened at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix, when the 30-year-old won the 100m with 9.98. Not happy with that, he reduced that to 9.96 at the Kip Keino and then hit 9.95 at the Botswana Grand Prix. So much so that going into the 100m DL meet in Xiamen, the Kenyan has already clocked four sub-10 performances.

Now his time in the Xiamen DL makes it five, and it’s also his season-best time. It marks yet another impressive performance from Africa’s fastest man. Yet it’s not surprising, given that Omanyala’s aim after Shanghai was to stay consistent.

“I ran under 10, and I was satisfied,” Omanyala said as per Pulse Sport. “The result is good, and we move on from there. I’m used to competing, so it was a good run. Before the race, I had an expectation to run under 10, and now that I have achieved that, I hope to keep the performance consistent in the next race in Xiamen.”

Now his focus will turn to the Rabat DL meet, which will take place on May 31.