Sprinting master Ferdinand Omanyala has eventually been handed his US visa and would be able to travel to Oregon for the World Athletic Championships after days of distress.
The African 100m record holder was finally handed his long awaited visa on Thursday July 14 and will be hoping on a flight to Oregon at 6pm.
Less than 24 hours are remaining for the world athletics championships to commence.
“I can confirm that we have managed to get a 6pm flight for Omanyala and he will arrive just in time for his race,” said Barnaba Korir, the Athletics Kenya Executive Committee member.
Omanyala will be able to arrive in Oregon at on Saturday 2am East African time just less than 3hrs before his race begins.
Earlier on, reports indicated that he will not be participating in the championships because of the Visa delays.
In a statement through his spokesperson, Omanyala had expressed his disappointment of not being able to make it to the race after putting so much effort during training.
“Sadly, I won’t be participating in this year’s world championships in Oregon. I did not get my visa in time for travel. It’s hard for me too because we worked hard and even trained through pain, but like I always say, positivity, everything happens for a reason.
“We will redeem ourselves at the Budapest world championships next year. We also have the Commonwealth Games coming in two weeks’ time. Thanks for the support and prayers,” Omanyala said
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