An investigation regarding the Somali Athletic Federation has been prompted by a widely shared video from a 100-meter race in China that generated confusion, many laughs, and allegations of nepotism.
Women’s 100-meter competition for the World University Games took place in Chengdu, China, on August 1. Many social media users have been transfixed on the Somali sprinter who finished last, although typically track events end with the audience focussing on who crossed the finish line first.
Six student athletes are seen lining up for their heat in a race film that was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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 Garaad ✍︎ (@EGaraad_) August 1, 2023
According to The Associated Press, 20-year-old Nasra Abukar Ali of Somalia enters her starting blocks in lane 4. She seems to be observing the posture and hand placements of the other runners.
The sprinter from Brazil seizes the lead as soon as the race starts. As the other sprinters finish the race, Ali falls so far behind that she is not captured on video.
Ali crosses the finish line in the final seconds of the video, coming in at around 21 seconds and 10 seconds after the victor.
On X, the video has received over 65 million views to date.
The person who posted the video, Elham Garaad, lamented her situation in a tweet.
She questioned, “How could they choose an untrained girl to represent Somalia in running? It’s alarming and represents our nation negatively abroad, in my opinion.
Others couldn’t help but chuckle as they saw the incident.
One reader exclaimed, “That ‘woo that was a workout!’ skip at the end had me inconsolable.”
Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairperson of the Somali Athletics Federation, should be suspended, Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports declared on August 2 in response to some indignation and thousands of responses to the viral video.
In a statement published on X, the ministry said that it had looked into Ali and discovered that he was neither a “sports person nor a runner.”
Suspension of the Chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, Ms. Khadijo Aden Dahir pic.twitter.com/UZsO0A4UiA
— Ministry of Youth and Sports of Somalia (@MoysFGS) August 2, 2023
Additionally, according to the statement, Dahir “engaged in acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and harming the name of the nation in the international arena.”
The statement warned that Dahir and other “persons responsible for the falsification of the Somali University Sports Association” could face legal repercussions.
The signed suspension recommendation has the name of the Minister of Youth and Sport, Mohamed Barre Mohamud, at the end.
According to The Associated Press, he claimed that the ministry doesn’t know why Ali was selected to compete in the 100-meter sprint.
In addition, the university union for Somalia declared that it did not send any runners to the sporting occasion to represent the official Somali squad.
According to the Somali National News Agency, the Somali Olympic Association temporarily suspended Dahir on August 2 after the ministry’s proposal.