Nasra Abukar Ali, a 20-year-old runner from Somalia, went viral for her jaw-dropping performance in the 100-meter sprint at the World University Games in Chengdu, China, but not for the right reasons.
She came in last in the sprint – clocking in at a staggering 21.81 seconds and was promptly branded the “slowest-ever” time taken in the history of the 100m race. Somalia's athletics community has faced a severe blow to its reputation after the runner completed the race, taking twice as much as the winner.
The viral video of her struggle to compete with the other athletes has sparked ridicule and accusations of corruption and incompetence within the Somali government and the country’s athletics boss has been suspended.
The video shows the athlete, now branded “unfit”, fall far behind the pack, barely visible in the frame for most of the race. Her stumbling finish, more of a skip than a sprint, left viewers in disbelief and triggered an outpouring of mockery online. She even hopped and jumped during the race and finally made to a finish line, in a stark contrast between her time and Brazil's Gabriela Mourão, the winner with a time of 11.58 seconds.
He physical appearance, including her “potbelly”, was also mocked by Twitter users and viewers of the competition as she struggled to even get in position like her opponents before the race began.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports should step down. 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. pic.twitter.com/vMkBUA5JSLRelated stories
— Elham Garaad(@EGaraad_) August 1, 2023
Investigations by the National Olympic Committees revealed that Ali had no prior background in running or any other sport. Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud suspended the Chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, Khadijo Aden Dahir, for allegations of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the nation's name soon after.
He further declared his intent to pursue legal action over the incident, according to Al Jazeera.
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