World University Games: viral video shows untrained Somalian sprinter take nearly 22 seconds to finish 100m race
- Somalia’s Nasro Abukar Ali finishes the race in a time of 21.81 seconds, more than 10 seconds behind the first-placed runner
- After an investigation, Somalia’s minister of youth sports says she ‘has been identified as not sports person nor a runner’
Somalian officials indicated nepotism had been at play after embarrassing footage emerged of a women’s 100 metres athletics race at the World University Games, in which the country’s runner Nasro Abukar Ali took more than 20 seconds to finish.
The video of the race went viral on social media after the 20-year-old’s sluggish performance in her heat in Chengdu.
Nasro Abukar sprang from the blocks on the “g” of the bang from the starter’s pistol, and dragged behind the rest of the field from the off, with a sizeable gap by around the 20m mark.
She was to finish 10 seconds behind Brazil’s Gabriela Silva Mourao in first place, who clocked 11.58 seconds.
Hong Kong’s Leung Kwan-yi, who finished second in the heat, also qualified for the semi-finals with a time of 11.98.
After a lengthy delay, Nasro Abukar arrived at the finish in 21.81, with her efforts soon drawing attention on Twitter.
