Summerville's Carvin Nkanata looks back on his Olympic journey
SUMMERVILLE, SC (WCSC) - Summerville alum Carvin Nkanata is back in the Lowcountry this week after what was probably the craziest summer of his life. A world-class sprinter, he probably thought after he qualified for the Olympic games in Rio that the hardest part of the journey was over. But that wouldn't come until his arrival in Brazil.
Nkanata had been dreaming for years of being an Olympic athlete, that became a reality when he qualified for the 200-meter race for his father's home country of Kenya.
"It's something I was looking forward to for the last 2 years just to be able to go down and qualify and actually run." Nkanata said when he visited the Live 5 News studio this week. "It was an awesome experience, I'm really grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to go down to Rio and run."
But his dream was almost dashed when he arrived in Rio due to a miscommunication about what paperwork he needed. So Nkanata returned to the United States.
"I was just at a loss for words cause I really worked hard to get to this point and then to see it evaporate just so quickly, it was like wow, I was stuck. I didn't know how to take it all in at once. When the opening ceremony was going on and then the races started, it really hurt me a little bit because I was working hard for this and then just to see it go away."
Nkanata filed an appeal with the help of Lowcountry lawyer John Kern and the day before his event, he got the call that he was back in.
"It was really exciting because I got to actually compete which was the ultimate goal and what I really wanted to do and so when I got there and competed, it was a surreal experience because not everyone has the opportunity to go down to the Olympics and qualify."
By the time he flew back to Rio, he only had a few hours to prepare. He'd finish 8th in his heat, but the outcome was secondary.
"When I was lining up, getting in the blocks, I was like wow, I actually made it to the Olympics because I qualified, I'm here. I'm doing what I sought out to do so that 's when it really hit me and when I walked off the track I was like, I'm done. I got my Olympic status."
Carvin said he plans to take several weeks off before he returns to training. But he does still have a lot on the horizon. He'll be racing at the World Championships next year in London and he's also focused on going back to the Olympic games in 2020 in Tokyo.
