Visa Delay Leaves Kenyan Sprinter Omanyala Stranded Ahead of World Championships in Oregon

Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala is currently stranded in Nairobi, two days before the 2022 Word Athletics Championships kick off in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Omanyala, who is set to compete in the men’s 100m heats on Friday ahead of Saturday’s final, said he is yet to travel to the US due to visa delays. 

“Sad that I haven’t travelled to Oregon yet and the 100m is in two days. Visa Delays!!!” Omanyala wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old African champion joins a few senior Athletics Kenya officials as well as journalists who are yet to get their visas from the US embassy in Nairobi. An official at Athletics Kenya said the Ministry of Sports is currently engaging the US embassy in order to hasten the issuance of visas for the team.

On Tuesday, President Kenyatta flagged off a contingent of 46 athletes who will represent Kenya in different events at the global showpiece. The team started leaving for the US in batches on Monday night.

Omanyala, who is the Kenya and Africa record holder in 100m, is the second fastest man this year after running 9.85 seconds to win the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi. American Fred Kerley is the only athlete to run faster when he posted 9.83 seconds at the US Trials in June.

Omanyala became the first Kenyan sprinter to reach an Olympic semi-final at the Tokyo Games last year.