In a video that went viral online, Nasra Abukar clearly had zero business being on a track getting ready to race alongside elite athletes.
She fell so far behind the pack that she is out of frame for most of the race and finishes while skipping across the line. As a result, the head of Somalia’s national athletics federation has been suspended and the sports minister was forced to apologize after a video went viral across social media.
The woman finished about 10 seconds behind the winner, finishing in about 21 seconds.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Somalia said it had suspended Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation. It alleged Dahir had engaged in “acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation in international arena,” in a letter addressed to the Somali National Olympic Committee and tweeted by the ministry.
Somali Minster of Youth and Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud said Ali was not a “sports person nor a runner.”
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Somalia’s university union said it had not sent any runners to China as part of an official Somali team.
The letter added that the ministry intends to “pursue legal action against both the Chairman of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and individuals responsible for falsification of the Somali University Sports Association.”
