OREGON22: Confirmed, Omanyala is out of World Championships

Africa’s Fastest man, the world’s third best 100m runner this year, a medal prospect in 100m from Kenya, Ferdinand Omanyala, will unfortunately miss his shot at world glory as visa hitches have led to him missing that all-important flight to Oregon.

“Sadly, I will not be participating in this year's world championships in Oregon. I did not get my visa in time for travel," Omanyala said in a statement.

“It is hard for me too because we worked hard and even trained through pain, but like I always say, positivity, everything happens for a reason. We will redeem ourselves at the Budapest world championships next year. We also have the Commonwealth Games coming in two weeks' time. Thanks for the support and prayers,” the statement continued.

The sprinter was set to take to the track on Friday for the 100m heat with the final of the event set to take place a day later. Omanyala is reported to have gotten his visa on Thursday but that left him with limited time to travel.

Omanyala was set to renew rivalry with American sprinter Fred Kerley after their show down at the Kip Keino Classic where the Kenyan put up a show for the home fans to beat Kerley.

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Kerley has run sub-10 in all seven of his 100m races, culminating with stunning back-to-back performances at the US Championships at Eugene’s Hayward Field on 24 June and heads to the championship as the favourite.

In a span of two hours, Kerley ran a personal best 9.76 in the semifinals and then clocked 9.77 in the final – the world’s two fastest times this year. He also set the meeting record and the fastest ever time by a US athlete on home soil.

Omanyala had said in a recent interview with AFP that he had set his sights on at least reaching the final of the 100m in Oregon, targeting a time of 9:6.

If he had made the podium there, it would have been an historic first for an African runner.

Namibia's Frankie Fredericks twice won Olympic silver in the 100m in the 1990s, but his one gold and three silvers in the World Championships were all over 200m.

Legacy

The young athlete and his coach Duncan Ayiemba have been mapping out ways to make sprinting more popular in Kenya, the East African country where the long-distance runner is king.

Omanyala became the first Kenyan sprinter to reach an Olympic semi-final at the Tokyo Games last year.

He was able to represent Kenya in Tokyo after Athletics Kenya relaxed a decision to prohibit any banned athletes from taking part in international competitions.

He had been suspended for 14 months in 2017 by the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya after testing positive for a banned substance.

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"It was a hard 14 months but life has to move on," Omanyala said in the AFP interview.

The young athlete said he hoped to be a role model for other aspiring sprinters both at home and across Africa.

"I believe I opened the way for so many people coming behind me," he said. "One of the things that I wanted to do is to leave a legacy. I want to leave an industry of sprint in Kenya."

Additional reporting by AFP