After a rookie sprinter was permitted to compete in an international sporting event, Somalia suspended a sports official for nepotism.
At the World University Games in China, Nasra Abubakar Ali finished the 100m in nearly twice as much time as the winner.
She is “not a sports person, nor a runner,” the Somali Ministry of Youth and Sport found after an investigation.
It has been alleged that the head of the Somali Athletics Federation abused her position and disparaged Somalia.
Following a meeting between the nation’s National Olympic Committee and the sport ministry, Khadijo Aden Dahir was removed from his position.
Additionally, their early study revealed the nonexistence of the Somali University Sports Association, a sports organization.
The ministry declared it would file a lawsuit against the president of the Athletics Federation of Somalia as well as anyone else involved in the “falsification” of the sports organization.
It didn’t go into detail about the relationship between Ms. Dahir and Ms. Ali.
The racer quickly disappears from view in a video of the event but returns to finish the race with a cheery skip.
The amateur athlete finished the race in 21.81 seconds, over 10 seconds later than the victor. The event, according to sports minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud, was embarrassing.
He apologized to the Somali people, saying, “What transpired today was not representative of the Somali people.
Some Somalis have questioned why she was ever chosen because she supposedly had no prior experience competing.
“Seeing a government this incompetent is depressing. “How could they pick an untrained girl to run for Somalia?” asked Elham Garaad on social media. It’s alarming and represents our nation negatively abroad, in my opinion.
The Association of Somali Universities said in a press release shared on its Facebook page that it has not named any athletes to take part in the competition.
According to reports, the Somali Athletics Federation has consented to initiate an inquiry into the selection process for Ms. Abubakar Ali.
The incident is not the first time Somalia has drawn criticism for the athletes it has sent to international athletics competitions.
Maryan Nuh Muse’s 400-meter time at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio was a lethargic 1.10.14. The duration of the event is typically 48 seconds.
However, the runner received acclaim from many for her desire to compete and for overcoming the challenging circumstances Somali women must overcome in order to participate in elite sport.
Zamzam Mohamed Farah finished about 30 seconds behind the winner with a time of 1:20:48 at the London Olympics in 2012.
Throughout the competition, the athlete reportedly received death threats from Somalians who opposed women playing sports.
