By: Bryan Zou

Ferdinand Omanyala was set to run for the 100m in Eugene Oregon, on Friday, July 15th, but nearly missed it due to visa issues.

Omanyala is the African record holder in the 100-meter race, with a time of 9.77 seconds. He is currently the world’s third fastest man right behind America’s Fred Kerley (9.76 seconds) and Trayvon Bromell (9.81 seconds). Being one of many international athletes who travel to races in Eugene, Omanyala was also affected by the delayed visas.

Omanyala initially announced that he would not be taking part in the races due to the delay in visas, likely caused by a backlog of COVID-19 cases. A day before the race on Friday, Omanyala finally received his visa. After arriving in Oregon, Omanyala managed to snag fifth place in the semi-finals of the 100m race. Even after nearly missing the race, Omanyala still felt grateful that he was able to attend, and said, “every challenge you face today makes you stronger tomorrow. The challenge of life is intended to make you better, not bitter.

Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems. No matter how much falls on us, we keep moving.”

All other Kenyan athletes had received their visas just one day after registering, but Omanyala received his a week later. The entire team registered on July 7th, but Omanyala reportedly had an issue with certain information not being disclosed in his registration form.

On the other hand, Omanyala states that he was not informed about any incomplete information, and says, “if that was the case, the American embassy would have highlighted the issue in advance.”

While Omanyala’s incident certainly was the closest yet, many other athletes had to deal with it as well. Of 374 cases, only 73% of them were resolved. Syria’s only athlete, Majd Eddin Ghazal, stated he was, “tired of delayed replies.” British officials also reported that Olympic marathoner Chris Thompson dealt with “significant delays” while processing his U.S. visa. He also added “it should never have got to this point and it’s hard to believe it has.” The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee responded with, “the Oregon22 organizing committee and World Athletics are working closely with the USOPC to follow up on visa applications, the majority of which have been successfully resolved,” according to a World Athletics statement Wednesday. “We continue to follow up with those outstanding visa issues.

International travel in general has become more challenging due to the pandemic and we are extremely grateful for the help and experience of the USOPC in helping to resolve issues that have come up in the last few weeks.”

Sources:

https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/07/15/ferdinand-omanyala-world-championships-track-and-field/

https://kenyans.co.ke/news/77379-omanyala-hits-back-sports-ps-over-missing-visa-info

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/omanyala-out-world-championships-due-visa-delay-2022-07-14/