Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala has issued another statement over the VISA hitch that saw him arrive at Eugene, Oregon for the USA Athletics World Championships three hours before his race.
Taking to his Instagram account on Friday, July 22, Omanyala responded to a statement by Athletics Kenya who said he is to blame for the VISA delay.
“Let’s stop pointing fingers. The government actually really helped. There is no one to blame for my VISA delay,” Omanyala said.
The star athlete further affirmed the statement by AK who said that the delay came about after Omanyala was asked to respond to supplementary questions from the US embassy after he applied for the travel document.
“I was sent supplementary questions that needed clarification after the initial application. But on Thursday, a day before my race, the VISA was not out,” Omanyala said.
“It was through government intervention through the Ministry of Sports and Athletics Kenya that I got my VISA,” Omanyala added.
In a Monday, July 18 statement, AK distanced itself from claims that the body prioritized the travel of government officials and other joy riders for the games.
The Jackson Tuwei-led society further said that preparations for the games began way back and that the Ministry of Sports was not involved in the travelling arrangements of athletes and other officials.
“Athletics Kenya engaged an external expert firm to process visa applications for the travelling delegation to ensure a smooth process without challenges. Athletics Kenya did not engage the Ministry during these initial visa applications,” Tuwei said in a statement.
AK further says that each athlete was issued the requisite travel documents on July 9th save for Omanyala who had some issues to iron out with the US embassy.
According to AK, Omanyala was required to fill in an additional form to clarify some issues. This led to the delay in his departure and eventually the saga that saw him arrive in the US hours before his first race.
“The rest were issued with their visas two days later while Omanyala’s passport was not released. We were informed that he needed to fill an additional form referred to as supplementary questions for visa applicants, to verify some facts,” the statement read in part.
