This race was not run in slow motion. But for one country, it sure looked like it.
A 20-year-old Somalian sprinter finished last in a women’s 100-meter race, more than 10 seconds behind her competitors, at the World University Games, The Washington Post reported. The runner’s excruciatingly slow time prompted the Somalian sports minister to publicly apologize after a video of the race went viral, according to the newspaper.
Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud said his ministry did not know how Nasra Ali Abukar, 20, was chosen to compete in the race at the student games in Chengdu on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.
A video of the race, taken from Chinese state television, shows Abukar trailing far behind the field, taking more than 20 seconds to complete the race and finishing 10 seconds behind her competitors, CBS Sports reported. The video also shows Abukar skipping across the finish line, according to the Post.
Somali Female Athlete Nasra Ali Abukar sparks debate about her selection criteria to represent #Somalia after emerging last in 100m race in the ongoing @FISU World University games in #China. She has reportedly broken the games finishing last timing record. pic.twitter.com/icc4rYLlyW
— Abdinoor Aden™ (@Abdynoor) August 2, 2023
Her official time was 21.81 seconds, AL.com reported.
In addition to the apology, Mohamud also announced that national athletics federation chairwoman Khadija Aden Dahir used her connections to get Abukar, a relative of hers, into the World University Games, CBS Sports reported.
The Somali Athletics Federation has announced an investigation, according to several media reports.
The performance raised questions about why Abukar, who does not have an entry in the World Athletics database, was even competing on Tuesday, the Post reported.
Somalia’s university union said it had not sent any runners to China as part of an official team, the AP reported.
It is not the first time that Somali sports officials have been red-faced after a race.
At the 2016 Olympics, Maryan Nuh Muse finished the 400-meter event far behind her competitors, the Post reported. At the time, she was praised as being an inspiration for overcoming obstacles such as war, violence and tough training conditions in order to compete, according to the newspaper.
