- Some have accused the Somali Athletics Federation of nepotism and corruption, claiming that Ali is the niece of Khadija Aden Dahir, the senior vice president of the federation
- The minister in charge of Somalia’s Ministry of Sports, has promised to look into how Abukar was chosen
Somali sports authorities have come under criticisms for selecting Nasro Abukar Ali, a female athlete accused of being underqualified and unfit, to represent the country at the prestigious 2023 World University Games.
Nasra came in last place during the 100m race at the 31st Summer World University Games held in Chengdu, China on Tuesday August 1, setting a new record for the slowest finish in the competition’s history.
A viral video of the race has sparked questions as to why Somalia would send an athlete who was so underprepared to a major event.
Some have accused the Somali Athletics Federation of nepotism and corruption, claiming that Ali is the niece of Khadija Aden Dahir, the senior vice president of the federation.
They have also alleged that the federation misused funds meant for developing athletics in Somalia.
Mohamed Barre, the minister in charge of Somalia’s Ministry of Sports, has promised to look into how Abukar was chosen. He responded by calling the incident ‘a misrepresentation and embarrassment’ for Somalia.
Some reports have said that Abukar told Chinese media that she still has ‘a lot left in the tank’ and has plans to race at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
This is not the first time Somalia has had an astronomically slow runner; in 2016, Maryan Nuh Muse represented the country at 400 meters in the Rio Olympics despite having a desperately slow time.
Her time in the heat was 1:10:14 which was more than twice that of the next best runner.
