Olympian Ferdinand Omanyala will finally get to travel to the 2022 World Athlete Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA after getting a US visa at the very last minute.

According to the athlete himself, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ambassador Amina Mohamed had a key part to play in him getting the visa.

On Wednesday, July 13th, Kenyans learnt through Omanyala's spokesperson that he was yet to receive any update on his visa application process.

The delay created anxiety and Kenyans took to Twitter to pile pressure on authorities to act. He is now set to leave the country at 6 pm for the World Championships.

Omanyala is set to participate in the Oregon World Championships that start in less than 24 hours.

The athlete will depart Kenya at 6 pm and is expected to arrive in Eugene less than three hours before the men's 100m heats begin in the evening session on day one of the World Championships.

Athletics Kenya executive member Barnabas Korir said many other Kenyan athletes had also been affected by visa delays, while Ethiopian and Nigerian athletes are also understood to have encountered visa issues.

World Athletics said it was working with the Oregon 22 organising committee and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to follow up on visa applications affecting some competitors, but said: "the majority have been successfully resolved".

"We continue to follow up with those outstanding visa issues," a statement from the world governing body added.

"International travel, in general, has become more challenging due to the [Covid] pandemic and we are extremely grateful for the help and experience of the USOPC in helping to resolve issues that have come up in the last few weeks."

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