World news. Kenyan world athletics champion Ferdinand Omanyala secured a last minute chance to compete at the 2022 World Athletic championship in Oregon, US just after dealing with visa issues.
The Kenyan sprinter aims to beat Usain Bolt’s speed in the 100m hopefully hitting a 9.6 second time.
Omanyala had a delay in securing his visa, a plight very familiar to many Kenyans, and was nearly missing out on the opportunity to compete. He even told AFP on Thursday morning that he had “given up” on his trip to the US.
Ferdinand (26) eventually secured his visa and flew out of Nairobi and will arrive in the US approximately two hours before the men’s 100m begins.
“I want to thank everyone who has worked around the clock to ensure I get this visa,” a grateful Omanyala told Athletics Kenya afterwards. “There is nobody to blame here. This is the system, this is how it works. You cannot just force anything.”
The athlete added that if he does arrive late he hopes organisers will give him the chance to run his own heat, although he prefers to race against other runners.
Source: afp, DW