Africa fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala failed to qualify for the 100m finals in the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA.
by Beryl Atieno.
Omanyala Clocked 10.14Sec to finish 5th in the Semis, slower than his Saturday morning record where he cloaked 10.10 Sec.
His kickoff at the Biennial Championship had been marred with a lot of chaos having arrived in Oregon just 4 hours to his Heats on July Saturday16th. On his arrival he had less than 24 hours to recover for the semi-finals due to he late Visa issuance.
There was a delay in the issuance of Omanyala’s Visa after the American Embassy questioned the first list provided by the Ministry of Sports. The travel List had increased from 81-112. It was reported that the Ministry of Sports sneaked 32 other individuals to attend the event in Oregon.
Director of DCI George Kinoti had been called to investigate the alleged inclusion of joyriders to the list of athletes, submitted by Athletics Kenya (AK).“It is really shocking… this is a shame not to the country but to the whole world… we shall not accept,” Said Kinoti.
There were allegations that the joyriders each paid 2million Shillings as bribe to secure them a seat in the ongoing championship. However Joe Okudo, the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Sports refused these allegations and maintained that not a single government official had travelled to the US.
After his exit, Kenyans on Twitter turned to the Sports cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed, arguing that Omanyala’s travel hitch could have led to his loss.
Despite this Omanyala posted on His social:
“No matter how much falls on us, we keep moving”
“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 “
