Somalian sports official suspended for sending 'untrained' niece to event
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A so-called sprinter from Somalia has gone viral for breaking records – and not the good kind.
Nasra Ali Abukar was competing at the World University Games in Chengdu, China, but her embarrassing performance sparked outrage and accusations of nepotism.
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Abukar lumbered, then skipped across the finish line in 21.81 seconds, double the time of what the leaders ran it in.
The race has since gone viral with many questioning why Somalia would send an athlete so clearly unprepared to an event this important.
“The Ministry of Youth and Sports should step down,” wrote Elham Garaad, who posted the video on Twitter.
“It’s disheartening to witness such an incompetent government. How could they select an untrained girl to represent Somalia in running? It’s truly shocking and reflects poorly on our country internationally.”
It is believed to be the slowest finish in the history of the competition and many online found her efforts hilarious.
“This girl hasn’t walked fast in her life,” one person tweeted. “Looks like there are no women in Somalia again so they had to pick the last one from the street and put her on the next flight.”
Another person joked: “That’s how I run in my nightmares.”
A third person added: “It’s the whoopty doo dah hop and a skip at the end for me.”
Garaad pointed out: “That’s the niece of the President of the Somali Athletics Federation. What (are) you expecting? Nepotism; we have good athletes in Somalia but when it comes to (money) it is a different story.”
She also posted a screengrab of a Facebook post from Khadijo Aden Dahir to her niece, congratulating her on being selected for the event.
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Dahir, the chairperson of the Somali Athletics Federation and reported aunt of Abukar, has since been suspended after an investigation was launched, the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports said in a statement.
Dahir is accused of “abuse of power, nepotism and defaming the name of the nation” in the international arena, the ministry said in a statement posted on social media, confirming that Abukar is not a “sports person nor a runner.”
Somalia’s Youth and Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud issued an apology and said he did not know how the 20-year-old was selected to compete in the race, The Associated Press reported.
The Association of Somali Universities said in a statement that it did not send any runners to compete in the event.
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