World and Commonwealth 1,500m silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot has been cleared by the American Embassy in Kenya and will defend his Bowerman Mile title at the Prefontaine Classic, USA on Sunday.
Cheruiyot’s manager Malcom Anderson said that the underlying issues that saw him fail to fly out on Wednesday night have been resolved and the athlete was set to leave Friday night.
“It’s difficult to know the reasons why he was asked to leave the plane on Wednesday night but we are glad that he has been cleared,” Anderson told Nation Sport from the United Kingdom. “What I know is that Cheruiyot has a P1 Visa for athletes that is valid for five years.”
Cheruiyot and his coach Bernard Ouma, were forced to disembark from the Kenya Airways plane by a security team and told to report at the American embassy in Nairobi.
“I have been in constant contact with the Prefontaine Classic organisers since Wednesday,” explained Anderson, who termed the development as unfortunate.
“The American embassy this morning cleared Timothy (and also Bernard) for travel and as such the positive news is Tim will be on the start line on Sunday for the Bowerman Mile.”
Cheruiyot’s teammates from Rongai Athletics Club’s Moyo Sports management including World and Commonwealth 1,500m champion Elijah Manang’oi and Continental Cup 1,500m champion Winny Chebet, managed to travel.
Prefontaine Classic is the seventh leg of the 2019 Diamond League Series where Cheruiyot, who is the 2018 Diamond League 1,500m Series winner, is the defending champion.
Cheruiyot started his season strongly, winning the International Meeting and Combined Events in Mauritius in on April 26 in 3:39.22. He then proceeded for his Diamond League opening race in Doha on May 3 where he finished second in 3:32.47, losing to Manang’oi, who won in 3:32.21.
Cheruiyot, the Africa 1,500m silver medallist, then won the Stockholm leg on May 30 in 3:35.79 to take the metric Mile Series lead this season.
Cheruiyot takes on among others Manang’oi, former World Indoor 1,500m champion Ayanleh Souleiman from Djibouti and two-time World Indoor 3,000m champion Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha.
The US embassy in Nairobi spokesperson Emily Fertik said she cannot comment on any individual visa case, but was quick to confirm that Cheruiyot and Ouma are free to travel to the United States. “We look forward to welcoming them soon,” said Fertik in a statement.