World

‘Untrained sprinter’ takes more than 20 seconds to finish 100m race – sparking ‘abuse of power’ allegations

A Somali sports official has been suspended after an apparently untrained female sprinter represented the African country at an international athletics tournament in China.

Nasra Abukar Ali took more than 20 seconds to finish the 100m race at the World University Games in Chengdu, with footage showing she came last by a considerable distance.

She also appeared to be significantly less physically fit than the other competitors.

Despite being quickly left behind by her rivals, Ali did do a little skip to celebrate when she crossed the finish line.

Read more:
At least 100 killed and 300 injured as Somalia’s capital hit by two explosions
Olympic 800m gold medallist Caster Semenya wins human rights court appeal

Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, has been suspended amid reports Ali is a relative of hers and was only entered into the contest because of family connections.

Ms Dahir has been accused of abusing her power and defaming Somalia and was suspended following a meeting between the country’s sports ministry and its National Olympic Committee.

Mohamed Barre Mohamud, Somalia’s minister of youth and sports, has said he does not know how Ali ended up being chosen.

Somalia’s university union said it had not sent any runners to China as part of an official Somali team.

Articles You May Like

Video of Israeli hostage released by terror group – as family warn ‘no time left’
Liberty Energy stock jumps after Trump picks CEO Chris Wright as energy secretary
First Glastonbury tickets sell out in 30 minutes as new booking system launched
Elon Musk Tapped to Lead New ‘DOGE’ Department—Despite the Government Already Having One for Efficiency
Over 100 politicians from multiple countries condemn China over detention of tycoon Jimmy Lai