Sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala’s is a man at crossroads after his record time of 10.01 clocked at the Making of Champions (MOC) meet in Lagos, Nigeria on 30 March was not ratified as a new national record by Athletics Kenya (AK).
Omanyala who recently pleaded with AK to allow him compete in the 2020 Olympics will not get this favour as he has been vindicated in a doping scandal before. Barring that, Athletics Kenya says that the event was not sanctioned by any federation, a statement that has been supported by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).
In a statement sent from AFN to AK, the Nigerian Federation says the event which was sponsored by BetKing did not enter any agreement with AFN.
Communication from the AFN to AK reads, “Please note that the AFN, under the leadership of Hon Gusau, did not enter into any agreement or partnership with anybody or group known or addressed as 'Making of Champions' for any competition, especially one referred to as third Making of Champions Grand Prix. For the avoidance of doubt, the competition in question was neither by the AFN nor was the AFN part of its organisation.”
Omanyala was banned in 2017 and served a 14-month ban by Anti-doping Agency of Kenya (Adak) after testing positive for glucocorticoid betamethasone, a substance banned by World Anti-Doping Agency. His coach Duncan Ayiemba was slapped with a two-year ban for administration or an attempt to administer betamethasone.
Despite serving the ban, Athletics Kenya doesn’t want to have him in the team as the repercussions might be devastating in the future.
A close source to AK has told TeamKenya that Omanyala’s chances of racing for Kenya are next to nil considering his past doping record.
“As it stands, he cannot represent the country, he cannot wear the national team running kit,”
“He blundered when he consumed the prohibited substances. He was misadvised by his coach and now, there is little AK can do to reverse that,” said our source.
“If AK allowed Omanyala to compete for the country, the others who competed before and were banned will also come to claim stake too!” he continued. ”Guys like Asbel Kiprop will also want to represent the country because their bans have elapsed, this will in turn paint a very bad picture about Kenya globally. We are currently under the radar and any slip or misjudgment might cost us badly in the future. What AK needs to do is to come out and issue a statement on this matter so that the public understands better,” he concluded.