Somalia’s minister of youth and sports has suspended the chairwoman of the country’s athletics federation and is planning to take legal action after a female sprinter took more than 21 seconds to complete the 100 meter race at the World University Games.
Nasra Abukar Ali participated in the women’s 100 meter race at the student games in China, but finished in last place, more than 10 seconds behind the winner who completed the race in 11.58 seconds.
A video clip of the race went viral on social media, showing the untrained 20-year-old not even in the same frame as the rest of the competitors crossing the finish line.
Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud stated that an investigation was conducted in collaboration with Somalia’s National Olympic Committee, which revealed that Ali was neither an athlete nor a runner.
“Khadijo Aden Dahir, the Chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, has engaged in acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and has defamed the name of our nation in the international arena,” stated the minister. The statement did not provide further details on the charge of nepotism.
“Based on these findings, the Chairman of the Somalia National Olympics committee should suspend Khadijo Aden.
“Furthermore, the Ministry… strongly declares its intention to take legal action against both the Chairman of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and individuals responsible for falsifying the Somali University Sports Association.”
The ministry also revealed that the investigation found that there was no registered Somali University Sports Association.