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Somalia’s minister of youth and sports suspended the chairwoman of the country’s athletics federation after a female sprinter took more than 21 seconds to complete the 100 metres race.
Nasra Abukar Ali lined up for the women’s 100m at the World University Games in China but she finished dead last, more than 10 seconds behind the race winner who clocked 11.58 seconds.
In a clip that went viral on social media, the untrained 20-year-old was not even in the frame as the rest of the field crossed the line.
Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud said an investigation was conducted with Somalia’s National Olympic Committee which revealed Ali was “neither a sports person nor a runner”.
“Khadijo Aden 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,” the minister said in a statement.
“What happened today was not representation of the Somali people… we apologise to the Somali people,” he said.
The minister said based on these findings the Chairman of the Somalia National Olympics committee should suspend Khadijo Aden.
He said the Ministry will pursue legal action against both the Chairman of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and individuals responsible for the falsification of the Somali University Sports Association.
The ministry added that the investigation also revealed that there was no registered Somali University Sports Association. In a statement, the Association of Somali Universities said it had not appointed any athlete to compete in the event.
The Somali Athletics Federation has reportedly agreed to launch an investigation into how Abubakar Ali was selected.
The incident is not the first time Somalia has sparked controversy with its choice of athletes at international athletics events.
In 2016, Maryan Nuh Muse ran a sluggish time of 1.10.14 in the 400m at the Rio Olympics. The average time for the event is about 48 seconds.
At the 2012 Olympics in London, Zamzam Mohamed Farah clocked a time of 1:20:48 – some 30 seconds behind the winner. The athlete was reportedly subjected to death threats throughout the games from some in Somalia who believed women should not participate in sport.
