By: Charlie Wang
Africa’s fastest Sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala feared to miss world championships because of the delay of U.S Visa which is a form of identification like having a passport to get on an airplane.
Record holder from Kenya, Ferdinand Omanyala, was scheduled to fly to the United States to compete in the World Athletics Championships just five days before racing for his 100-meter-dash. But with the plane leaving on Monday, he still hasn’t received a U.S Visa, without this he would be kicked from the race and ruining his legacy.
Omanyala said to The Washington Post that he registered for the Visa on July 7th with other athletes and the next day most of his teammates received their Visas, but he didn’t get it. Omanyala never got it and faulted the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi for this unexplained event. “It’s really disappointing, and I hope they do better next time,” Omanyala said. “I know they are hosting the Olympics in 2028, so I really hope they learn from this and do much better next time.”
The race has almost started, and Ferdinand Omanyala has still not shown up. By this point Omanyala has already given up hope, but he believed that God gives you miracles. It was Thursday, the day before the race and Ferdinand Omanyala has finally received his document, he immediately gets on the plane and “boarded a five-hour flight from Nairobi to Doha at 6 p.m. He flew 14 hours to Seattle, getting nine hours of sleep-in business class. His one-hour flight from Seattle to Eugene landed three hours before his race. He drove directly to Hayward Field.”
Omanyala performed a 10.10 which is a little bit off his best time but didn’t go fast enough to make it into finals. Omanyala didn’t make it into finals on Saturday, which would have been big for him. Above all of that he said that the officials didn’t tell him that there was an incomplete application and he needed to provide more information. But as far as Omanyala knew, he put all the necessary information they needed.
Officials didn’t provide Omanyala with his U.S Visa but Omanyala sat there patiently and waited for a miracle, and he just got it.