National 100m sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala says he is shocked by Athletics Kenya's decision to denounce his national record of 10.01, set at the third Making of Champions Grand Prix in Lagos, Nigeria, a fortnight ago.
Omanyala said the federation was aware of his participation in the race as he had informed them beforehand.
"I have not heard of any such communication from the federation. However, this is shocking since we went there (Nigeria) as a team of 12. Before we went, we sent letters to the federation informing them of the event and so they were aware," Omanyala said.
AK failure to recognise the speedster's time means he is also in limbo in regard to his entry for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
AK president Jack Tuwei said the federation would love as many athletes as possible to qualify for the Olympic Games but only through the right channels.
"It is our delight to see many more athletes qualify for the Olympics. If the runner (Omanyala) had come to the federation, we would have advised him against going for the race because it was unsanctioned. I urge all athletes to check with AK first before going for these international races, " Tuwei said.
But Omanyala alleged that officials from the local athletics federation attended the championships and wondered how it was not a legitimate event.
However, he vowed to work hard towards the national record and securing a ticket to the Olympics.
"It is too early to come up with the next course of action. But, definitely, I will work hard at securing more international races so that I can qualify (for the Olympics)," he said.
On Monday, AK said they would not recognise Omanyala's record because the sprinter had participated in an unsanctioned race.
This is after receiving a letter from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, dissociating themselves from the third Making of Champions Grand Prix in Nigeria where Omanyala smashed the national record of 10.14, held by Mark Otieno.
Otieno set a new personal best of 10.11 at this past weekend's All-Comers Athletics Meet in Lusaka, Zambia.
"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," SY Pepple, secretary general of the federation, said in a letter to AK.
World Athletics rules on ratification of records dictate that all events at which any record is broken must be sanctioned by the member federation for the record to stand.
Interestingly, the AFN has been entangled in power wrangling in the last two years, pitting Ibrahim Gusau and Olamide George.
Pepple was disowned by Nigeria Sports Ministry as a director general of the federation.
