The Americans blew everything
The Americans waited a long time to host the World Athletics Championships for the first time in history, and when they did, they blew it right from the start. In the moments when the competition has already started, incredible things happen, with visas being delayed for athletes and other members of national teams. Several athletes were forced to give up their performances because they either didn't get a visa or the process was taking so long that they decided there was no longer any point in traveling to Eugene.
Many will ask a logical question, why did they accept the organization of such a large competition if you are not able to ensure the athletes' entry into the country on time. And we are not talking about anonymous people, there are also very serious athletes, and candidates for awards.
The case of the Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala, the African champion, and record holder, who ran 9.85 this year and is in third place in the world rankings at 100 meters, probably received the most attention.
He announced on Thursday that he would not travel to Oregon because he didn’t get a visa, but just a few hours later he got it. He changed several flights and traveled 22 hours to get to Eugene at the last moment.
Iran's news agency reported on Thursday that both of its athletes, including Olympic discus silver medalist Ehsan Hadadi, didn’t get the visa. World Athletics Federation (WA) president Sebastian Coe has admitted that not all visa issues will be resolved in time. This whole story especially upset the legendary Michael Johnson. For him, this is very funny. Everyone knows that is hard to get a USA visa, and The World Athletics Federation and the Organizing Committee should work on this. In professional sports, we can’t see such a thing.