Somalia apologises for fielding slow sprinter

Somalia’s sports minister has apologised after a female participant in an international 100m race was so slow that people questioned how she ever came to be selected.

At a university games competition in the city of Chengdu in China, Nasra Abubakar Ali took close to 22 seconds to complete the race – almost twice as long as the winner.

In a video of the event, which has gone viral on social media, the Somali athlete is soon left out of shot and eventually completes the race with a jovial skip.

It looks more like a comedy sketch.

Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud described the incident as an embarrassment.

“What happened today was not representation of the Somali people… we apologise to the Somali people,” he said.

The fact that she reportedly had no previous experience of competing has prompted some Somalis to wonder why she was ever selected. We are trying to find out.

If the whole point of this was to get publicity then she has won the equivalent of a gold medal with millions of views on social media:

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