Key Points
- A sprinter representing Somalia at the World University Games took over 20 seconds to finish a 100-metre run.
- The country's youth and sports minister, Mohamed Barre Mohamud, has apologised for the performance.
- Mohamud has also accused the country's athletics chairwoman of "nepotism" and called for her suspension.
Somalia's sports minister has apologised after a female sprinter representing the country took over 20 seconds to complete a 100-metre run at the World University Games.
Nasra Abukar Ali lined up for the women's 100-metres at the student games in Chengdu, China on Tuesday but finished dead last.
Her total run time was 21.81 seconds, more than 10 seconds behind the race's winner, Brazil’s Gabriela Silva Mourão, who clocked 11.58 seconds.
Footage of the race has gone viral on social media, with some questioning how Ali was selected to compete at the games.
In the clip, the 20-year-old is immediately outpaced by the other entrants, not even appearing in the frame as the rest of the field crossed the line.
Sprinter neither a 'sports person nor a runner'
Mohamed Barre Mohamud, the country's youth and sports minister, apologised on Somalian television for the performance, saying it "was not representation of the Somali people".
In a statement shared on social media, Mohamud said an investigation conducted with Somalia's National Olympic Committee had revealed Ali was neither a "sports person nor a runner".
He also pushed for the suspension of the Somali Athletics Federation's chairwoman, Khadijo Dahir.
"The chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation has engaged in acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation in (the) international arena," Mohamud said. The statement did not elaborate on the charge of nepotism.
"Based on these findings, the chairman of the Somalia National Olympics committee should suspend Khadijo Aden."
The minister added that the investigation also revealed that there was no registered Somali University Sports Association.
Ministry to pursue legal action
Mohamud said that his ministry would be pursuing legal action against both the chairman of the Athletics Federation and "individuals responsible for the falsification of the Somali University Sports Association".
In a statement shared on its Facebook page, the Union of Somali Universities said it had not sent a runner to compete in China.
