The 2016 Africa 5,000m champion Sheila Chepkirui, feels she was let down after she failed to get her visa to travel to the US for the World Athletics Championships in Oregon on time.

While there was a public outcry for Ferdinand Omanyala, Africa’s fastest man, which eventually paid off, Chepkirui feels the same courtesy should have been extended to her.

“I don’t feel bad that Ferdie travelled, I am happy for him. I just wished I too had the same support system and help that Omanyala got,” said Chepkirui.

“Everyone was talking about Omanyala, but he was not the only athlete affected by the visa debacle. I was there with him, but my name was never mentioned, I feel bad because this is an opportunity lost,” said Chepkirui, who came second behind the newly crowned World silver medallist in 10,000m Hellen Obiri during the championships’ trials at Kasarani.

Just like Omanyala, Chepkirui applied for a visa with the rest of the Kenyan team on July 7. While majority of his teammates received visas the next day, Chepkirui said hers never processed, for reasons that remained unclear to her.

Fight for silverware

“It’s really disappointing because I couldn’t have had an opportunity to fight for silverware,” said Chepkirui just before the women’s 10,000m final on Saturday night at the Hayward stadium in Eugene, Oregon where teammates Obiri and Margaret Chelimo settled for silver and bronze respectively.

Chepkirui dismissed claims that she arrived late for a scheduled interview at the USA embassy Nairobi as the reason behind the visa denial.

“The (Sports) Ministry should have fought for me as well if they indeed intervened for Omanyala. I was left on my own,” said a dejected Chepkirui.

As for Omanyala, his visa finally arrived on Thursday. He boarded a five-hour flight from Nairobi to Doha at 6pm. He flew 14 hours to Seattle, getting nine hours of sleep since he was booked in the business class of his flight.

His one-hour flight from Seattle to Eugene landed three hours before his race. He drove directly to Hayward Field. He could eventually compete in the heats and qualify for the semis early on Saturday morning.

“Visa records are confidential by law,” Andrew Veveiros, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, was quoted in a foreign media outlet.

He added, “Therefore we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases.”

Chepkirui will be hoping to redeem herself at the Commonwealth Games on July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, England.