32 Joyriders? Only 3 Govt Officials Travelled To Oregon; Athletics Kenya Says

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 18- Athletics Kenya, the body responsible for holding the national championships and selection trials for Olympic and World Championship competitions in Kenya, says only three government officials accompanied Kenyan athletes to Oregon, United States for the 2022 World Athletic Championships.

This comes amidst allegations that the are 32 joyriders who went to the US and are largely to blame for the woes that Africa’s fastest man Ferdinard Omanyala faced in getting a visa.

In a statement, Athletics Kenya President Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei said the Amina Mohammed-led sports Ministry has put “strict policy” to ensure there are no joyriders for such events.

The Cabinet Secretary, AK said, had to travel to the games to among other things attend scheduled meetings with Nike and World Athletics.

“Allegations claiming that persons other than Athletes and support personnel travelled illegally to Oregon are false and unsubstantiated,” he said.

“Athletics Kenya hopes that this statement will set the record straight as a true account of the status of the Kenyan delegation in Oregon.”

What about Omanyala?

The African record holder was supposed to fly to the United States on Monday, giving him five days to settle in before his first 100-meter race.

But with barely a day left to make the Friday evening start, he had yet to receive a U.S. visa, without which he would be barred from the competition.

The document arrived a day before the race, and he got in with only a few hours to spare, set to compete with runners who had not just stepped off a plane.

Omanyala according to AK applied for the visa in July 7 alongside his teammates. While the rest were issued with a Visa a day later, Omanyala’s passport was not released.

AK said in the Monday statement that the United States Embassy said there was an additional form, “referred to as supplementary questions for visa applicants to verify some facts.”

Only Omanyala would have filled in the details, AK said.

It is CS Mohammed who intervened to have the Visa issued according to Athletics Kenya.

Omanyala failed to make it to the final of the 100m after finishing fifth in the semifinal on Sunday morning.

The Africa 100m champion clocked a sluggish 10.14, missing out on the two automatic slots for the final.

“Past the Semis I was a little 50-50. When I woke up on the day of the semis, I was feeling very tired and a little bit dizzy,” he said during an interview with Capital Sports.

“But then again, you can’t allow all of this to put you down. You really have to be strong mentally. The only thing that helped me was mental strength and positivity.”