China's Somalian Nasra Abukar recorded his worst 100m time in history, finishing 10 seconds behind his rivals at the World University Games in Chengdu.
Abukar finished the 100m in 21.81 seconds, far behind his rivals and finishing about 10 seconds behind the leader. According to British newspaper Sportmail , this is the worst 100m result recorded in the history of international competitions.
Abukar on the 100m track on August 2.
Video footage of the race has garnered widespread attention on social media, raising questions about why Somalia would send an inexperienced and unprepared runner to a major event. Abukar is reportedly the niece of Somali Athletics Federation vice-president Khadija Adan Dahir, and her selection to compete in Chengdu this summer was purely a matter of "nepotism".
Elham Garaad, who posted the viral video on Twitter , wrote: "The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Somalia should resign. It is disappointing to see such incompetence. How can they choose an untrained girl to represent Somalia in the tournament? It is truly shocking and reflects poorly on our country on the international stage."
In a later Twitter post, Garaad wrote: "She's the niece of the President of the Somali Athletics Federation. What did you expect? Somalia has good athletes, but when it comes to money, it's a different story."
Garaad also posted a screenshot of a Facebook post by Dahir congratulating his niece on being selected to attend the World University Games.
Post by Vice President of the Somali Athletics Federation Khadija Adan Dahir, congratulating Nasra Abukar on participating in the 2023 World University Games. Photo: screenshot
According to Newsweek , the Somali Athletics Federation has opened an investigation into why Abukar was selected to compete in the tournament in China, when the runner failed to make the finish line because he ran too slowly.
It is not the first time Somalia has underperformed in international running. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Maryan Nuh Muse ran the 400m in 1 minute 10.14 seconds. Still, she is being hailed as an inspiration for defying the harsh conditions in Somalia to compete at the highest level.
At London 2012, Zamzam Mohamed Farah - inspired by British athletics legend Mo Farah - ran the 400m in 1 minute 20.48 seconds, finishing about 30 seconds behind the winner.
At the time, media reports revealed Zamzam’s shocking training conditions, including a route dubbed “the road of death” where runners sometimes had to dodge bullets fired at them. She also received death threats on social media from people who believed women should not compete in sports.
Hong Duy
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