Finally, a thread I can contribute to.
Very short background, I am (was) a 10.09pb, FAT obviously and wind legal. On the world stage I was a total nobody but in a country with limited sprint talent, I was on the podium at 5 nationals and I semi'ed at a Commonwealth Games. Nothing of any real note but I was reasonably quick.
I can't believe the comparisons being made by some on here, especially those claiming to be sprinters themselves. 18 minutes being 'really slow' might be true of those who are 13 min runners, but 10.3 is 'really slow' to a sub 10 runner and I promise you, there's not a single mid or distance runner on the planet that could get within touching distance of that. It's honestly laughable to make that comparison.
After I retired I didn't run at all but I stayed in good shape through various other activities. A number of friends ran Parkruns regularly and I thought it would be fun to join in one day so I gave 5k a crack. With no concept of pacing, I didn't even make it to 1k before having to stop and vomit. It was excruciating. I don't remember what my first 'official' 5k time was but it would have been around the 30 minute mark and included numerous walk breaks. I'll point out I wasn't fat either, at 184cm and 72kg (6 foot, 160 pounds), I was light for a sprinter and I remain about that weight today.
Being totally embarrassed by my initial attempts, I decided to do some training and I gradually built my mileage up over the course of a year to about 35k a week (bit over 20mpw). I ran numerous 5k's in that time and NOT ONCE did I break 22 minutes, my best being 22 flat. And I wasn't taking it easy, after each time I felt like I was going to die. Yep, someone who was 0.03sec off going to the Olympics was getting windburn from 60 year old women and felt like my lungs were going to collapse while doing so. If someone was to post on here that they couldn't break 22 on 20mpw they'd be accused of being obese or a middle aged woman (or both), yet that was my 100% effort pace under 'race' conditions.
I shouldn't need to state the obvious but clearly I do, sprint speed has absolutely no carryover to distance running. A 10.5 runner saying they ran 20min (assuming that is true in the first instance) and implying a 9.77 runner would he able to smoke that is certifiably insane. Even my 10.09 is a universe away from 10.5, and 9.77 is an even bigger step again, trust me when I say that the physiology required to reach such speeds and the training involved, particularly for an athlete who is still very much active over that distance, is totally incompatible with even being able to jog a 5k at any speed, nevermind being able to knock out an 18 min run.
I will bet every last dollar I have that I have that Omurwa did not run 18 minutes. Either it was a guesstimate like someone else suggested, the course was short by a couple of K or he is just flat out lying. I'd go with option A. In fact, if anyone can provide verifiable proof that he did run 18 I'll make a $1000 donation to the charity of your chouce.