26-year-old sprinter Ferdinand Omanvala, otherwise known as Africa’s fastest man, was nervous that he would be unable to compete in this week’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
His original plan was to fly to Eugene and arrive on Sunday. This way he had 5 days to prepare before his race, settle down, and train just a bit more. However, after his US visa application was rejected, he thought he couldn’t go to the USA anymore.
No worries: his acceptance document came in just a day before the race, which meant he had to speed run the whole flight. He first flew 5 hours to Doha, then 14 hours to Seattle, and finally landed a one-hour flight to Eugene with only 9 hours of sleep. Omanvala even admitted, “It’s really disappointing, and I hope they do better next time,” adding, “I know they are hosting the Olympics in 2028, so I really hope they learn from this and do much better next time.”
When later he asked why his US visa application was declined and held back so late, he never got an answer why, and it remains unclear to this day.
His original plan was to fly to Eugene and arrive on Sunday. This way he had 5 days to prepare before his race, settle down, and train just a bit more. However, after his US visa application was rejected, he thought he couldn’t go to the USA anymore.
No worries: his acceptance document came in just a day before the race, which meant he had to speed run the whole flight. He first flew 5 hours to Doha, then 14 hours to Seattle, and finally landed a one-hour flight to Eugene with only 9 hours of sleep. Omanvala even admitted, “It’s really disappointing, and I hope they do better next time,” adding, “I know they are hosting the Olympics in 2028, so I really hope they learn from this and do much better next time.”
When later he asked why his US visa application was declined and held back so late, he never got an answer why, and it remains unclear to this day.