Africa's fastest man Omanyala racing against time to compete at world championships after late visa

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala faced a race against time to compete at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon on Friday after the Kenyan sprinter received his visa to travel to the US on Thursday.

Omanyala, who is on the entry list for the 100m event, initially announced he would not be competing because of a delay in getting a visa.

A spokesperson said Omanyala, who is in Nairobi, received his visa less than 24 hours before the start of the championships. His flight tickets are yet to be booked.

The 100m event is part of the morning session, which begins at 9.05 local time (4.05pm GMT) on Friday.

The spokesperson said the delay in getting the visa was likely due to the backlog of cases resulting from closures due to the pandemic.

Omanyala set the African men’s 100m record after clocking a time of 9.77 seconds at the Kip Keino Classic meeting in Nairobi in September 2021.

The 26-year-old won the African 100m title last month and was the first Kenyan to qualify for the Olympic 100m semifinals, in Tokyo last year.

Reuters