Kenyan and African record holder, Ferdinand Omanyala, is yet to receive his United states visa 48 hours before he takes to the track for his first race at the 2022 World Athletics Championship in Oregon.
Omanyala who is currently third on the World rankings (9.85s) is still in Kenya with a huge number of athletes having already departed and he is worried that he may miss his first-ever championship or get to Eugene jetlagged.
“I have remained with the TM and we are still waiting to hear from them. They told us they would be calling us and so it is just a matter of time. Of course, it is worrying because my first race is on Friday and this is a long flight,” Omanyala explained to Kenyan media outfit Capital Sport.
The 100m meters preliminary and Heats begin on Friday at 12.30pm (local time) and considering it will take a number of connecting flights and a little more than 20 hours to make it to Eugene from Nairobi Omanyala admits his chances of arriving jetlagged are higher even with a Visa today.
“It takes almost 22 hours to get there and as a sportsman, you need some time to rest and also train a bit to shake the jet lag. Looking at all circumstances and my first race being on Friday, I am just hoping I can leave today (Wednesday) so that I get there Thursday night and rest up a bit.”
The Kenyan 26-year-old qualified for the World Championships early after clocking 9.85secs to win the Kip Keino Classic. At the National Trials, he clocked 10.04secs under heavy wind, but still ran within the qualifying time.
Omanyala will be hoping to make the finals of the World Athletics Championships, having reached the semis of both the Olympic Games and the World Indoor Championships earlier this year.