Who would have thought that signing an–sorry for the realistic terms–untrained and average ‘runner’ for a global sports event could hurt a country so, so badly?
In an embarrassing turn of events for the East African country, an amateur runner from the country ended up in last place in the first round of the women’s 100-m race at the FISU Summer World University Games held in China.
Nasra Abubakar Ali, the said runner, finished the race in 21.81 seconds—more than 10 seconds after the winner of the heat. In the viral video which began to circulate on Wednesday, Ali stood out among the rest for lacking the same energy as the other runners and for obviously being slow. Ali was also seen to be skipping towards the end of the race.
The video caused a lot of mocking and anger on the internet, most specifically on X (formerly Twitter). The video also shined a light on the Somalian government’s current situation, which people criticized continuously.
This Somalia sprinter video got me in tears 😂 then she did the lil skip at the end
— The Chateau Elan Don (@BA6god) August 3, 2023
SOMALI SHAME! MY AFRICA??
Somalian sprinter Nasro Abukar Ali 100m sprint 21.81 was a full eight seconds slower than the next worse time recorded. It is claimed that Ali is the niece of the Somalia Athletics Federation's senior vice-president Dr. Khadija Aden Dahir. pic.twitter.com/L5AdbrFrf4— andenga wa odinga (@andengawaodinga) August 2, 2023
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/vMkBUA5JSL
— Elham Ishmael ✍︎ (@EIshmael_) August 1, 2023
Somalia has no functional government since at least 1991. There's civil war, terrorism and even piracy. How can a nepobaby sprinter be a worse blow to their image than any of those things? https://t.co/HO1rmbOqa0
— 🌐 delabrun1 🔴⚪⚫ (@delabrun1) August 2, 2023
somalia sprinter was so funny i cannot
— jem. (@jemssoliloquy) August 4, 2023
Nepotism at its best, watch the race and Somalia sprinter 🤷 https://t.co/VYFY588iht
— Zeenu ✌🏾 (@xyznu) August 3, 2023
The video in this article is… remarkable. 🫢
The chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation sent a family member to the World University Games, in China, rather than someone who could run fast.
It shows just how tuned these other athletes are!https://t.co/iN975pYe9y
— Les Floyd (@Lesism) August 3, 2023
Main take away from Nasra Ali—the untrained Somali female sprinter:#Somalia’s institutions are run/staffed by unqualified people.
Our country needs strong meritocratic culture.
4.5 + merit = acceptable.
4.5 + demerit = disgrace, national embarrassment. pic.twitter.com/DyA8YtDmq5— Abdinor Dahir (@Abdinordahir) August 3, 2023
The #Somali Government sent ‘an athlete’ to represent the nation. Problem was that the ‘sprinter’ has never ran before.
We later found out ‘the athlete’ is actually the niece of Somalia’s Head of Athletics Fed. No wonder – the Somali Govt is the most corrupt in the world. pic.twitter.com/1gW7SzTTGP
— Jamal Osman (@JamalMOsman) August 2, 2023
Despite our sister's efforts, apparently she is not skilled at this task. The people behind this shame must be held accountable.
📽️ CREDIT: CCTV pic.twitter.com/wNHXwSCjcX— Mowliid Haji Abdi (@MowliidHaji) August 1, 2023
I need to see that Somali sprinter (don’t know if we can call her a sprinter) do a tell-all interview, we know she got in via some form of nepotism, but what actually got her to do the race??? Surely you know if you’re not fast. I’m fascinated 🤣🤣🤣
— mohammed haji (@hxji99) August 2, 2023
I woke up still laughing at the Somali…I can’t even call her sprinter omg…would jogger be more appropriate ?
— BURN IT ALL FOR 4B | WNCel⚔️ (@haniimhome) August 2, 2023
Calling her a ‘Somali sprinter’ when her finish time was slower than the average human is a stretch https://t.co/WG85KM6fOB
— sis Laqashe (@callmebizniz) August 4, 2023
Just learned about the Somali sports minister making up a Somali university league to send their niece to the World University Games. She made a record for the slowest sprinter ever. It was a big embarrassment and a setback for diplomatic relations pic.twitter.com/CedCuVzWa0
— Blair Dulder CPA™ 🧃 (@runaway_vol) August 6, 2023
According to an investigation done by the Somali Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ali was revealed to “not be a sports person, nor a runner”. Furthermore, the Ministry also found that there was no “registered Somali University Sports Association,” and that they intend to “pursue legal action against the Chairman of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and individuals responsible for falsification of the Somali University Sports Association.”
Following the mockery that she had received after her turn at the race, Nasra Abubakar Ali said that “she was suffering from a sprained leg” when she raced and that she had been chosen by her university association to compete.
At the same time, Khadija Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation was suspended following “acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation in the international arena,” as said in a letter that was addressed to the Somali National Olympic Committee.
Nasro Abukar Ali has been linked as related to Khadija Aden Dahir, thus the nepotism and “nepobaby” allegations.
The Somali Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud also apologized for the incident and said that “What happened today was not representative of the Somali people.”
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