ATHLETICS

Africa's 100m champion faces World Athletics Championships ouster due to visa issues

Damola Ogungbe 09:42 - 13 July 2022

Ferdinand OMANYALA of Kenya during the Meeting Mondeville on February 9, 2022 in Mondeville, France. (Photo by Hugo Pfeiffer/Icon Sport via Getty Images)

Ferdinand Omanyala has not been granted a US visa despite only 48 hours to him competing at the 100m heats at the World Athletics Championships

Africa's fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala could miss out on competing at the upcoming 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, the United States due to visa issues as he faces the almost impossible task of securing a US visa and taking a 24-hour flight to Oregon, all in less approximately 48 hours.

The Kenyan sprinter is yet to receive a visa to travel to the U.S for the Athletics Championships that kick off less than two days from now on Friday, July 15.

Omanyala, who won the 100m at the 2022 African Athletics Championships in June, is set to compete in the heats of the World Athletics Championships with a shot at winning a world title.

Omanyala faces visa issues for World Athletics Championships

Sports journalist Deji Ogeyingbo broke the news on his personal Twitter account, revealing that Omanyala faces a real chance of not competing in the 100m heats that are scheduled for Friday evening.

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Omanyala faces a race against time as it takes 24 hours to reach Eugene, Oregon where the Championships are being held. He has less than approximately 48 hours to get a visa, travel to the United States and get ready for the heats which start at 6:50 pm local time on Friday.

Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala, the 100-meter African record holder, reacts after winning the men's 100m final during the national trials for the World Championships and the Commonwealth Games at the Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 25, 2022. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)

Omanyala is ranked No 3 in the 100m this season worldwide, having run 9.85s at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2022. He set the African 100m record of 9.77s at the same event in September 2021.

The 25-year-old's personal best of 9.77s makes him the eighth-fastest man on earth and the only African athlete on the list. He has once stated that he aims to break Usain Bolt's world record of 9.58s.