Michael Johnson scowled.
Michael Johnson is a sprint legend. PDO
One of the most talked about topics of the World Championships in Athletics has been the difficulty for athletes to get entry visas to the United States.
USA Today reported that as of Thursday, 374 athletes or officials have had difficulty obtaining their visas.
About 73 percent of these cases have been resolved.
The matter has attracted widespread criticism, and now the American sprint legend has also opened his verbal casket Michael Johnson.
Johnson, who currently works as a BBC commentator, got angry on Twitter about the visa issue.
– This is ridiculous. It has been known that getting an entry visa to the United States is difficult. Didn’t international organizations and organizers prepare in advance for this?, Johnson wrote.
– Pathetic and shameful!
Johnson won four sprint Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship gold medals in his career.
“I’m really shocked”
British marathon runner Chris Thompson is one of the athletes who faced the visa problem. He was supposed to compete in the men’s marathon today, Sunday, but had to withdraw from the race less than 48 hours earlier.
There were such big delays in issuing his visa too.
– I am really shocked. This was my main goal this year and I was well prepared for it. I never know how the race went, but I had high expectations. It should never have gotten to this point, Thompson said For The Guardian.
In addition to Thompson, a Kenyan sprinter has been among those with visa problems Ferdinand Omanyawho has run the third fastest time in the men’s 100 meters this season.
The Kenyan finally got to participate in the men’s 100 meters in Eugene, but his quest ended in the semifinals.