This Fail By A Somali 'Athlete' Is The Viral Clip You Need To Feel Better About Life
The 100m race at the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China took place and Somalia was represented by a cringy yet humourous performance that has gone viral.
Nasro Abukar Ali, an untrained runner, competed for her country but was doomed immediately as she fell several feet behind her opponents. While the first-place runner, Brazil’s Gabriela Silva Mourão, ran an impressive 11:58 and Ali skipped across the finish line almost ten seconds later, yikes.
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Watch: Somali sprinter runs 100m race in about 21 seconds
The FISU World University Games takes place every two years in a different country and is like the Olympics for university students. The students get the opportunity to compete in a variety of sporting events from basketball to archery and diving.
Naturally, social media had a lot to say about Ali’s performance in the race. Cue the responses!
May we all skip into the rest of the week like Somali Nasra Abubakar Ali at the finish line in the 100m race at a university competition in Chengdu, China 😂 pic.twitter.com/Q2sHxAcCp8
— Victoria Uwonkunda (@Afroscandi) August 2, 2023
ESPN Australia and New Zealand posted this, revealing that Ali ended up setting a record for the slowest recorded 100m finishing time.
Oh no...
A new record for the slowest 100m sprint has been set after an untrained runner was selected by Somalia at the World Uni Games.
There are allegations she was chosen for being related to a Somali athletics official.
MORE 📝: https://t.co/ovgG4SUUsS
🎥 @EGaraad_ pic.twitter.com/29yGRPo3ll— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) August 3, 2023
You know how everyone says we need one average human in each Olympic event to really highlight how unreal athletes are? Somalia went ahead and trialed that idea for us and I’m more on board than ever 😭 https://t.co/FrY47aXrgC
— 🦄🧜🏾♀️🌈 (@KopanoMashishi) August 2, 2023
That Somali runner is an ICON! That lil skip at the end proves it! pic.twitter.com/tIva6iwJvI
— Willfully Obtuse (@WillPower215) August 2, 2023
While X users are joking and calling Ali an “icon”, the runner’s home country is outraged and trying to figure out how Ali was approved for this event. The Association of Somalia Universities claims that it never sent a student to the competition. This opened the door for rumors that Ali gained the opportunity through nepotism, allegedly being related to the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, Khadijo Aden Dahir.
Dahir has since been suspended by the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Somalia due to the embarrassing performance by the “runner” in a statement posted to X on August 3, writing:
Nasro Abukar Ali has been identified as not sports person nor runner.
Ms. Khadijo Aden Dahir, the Chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, has engaged in acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the national in international arena.
Suspension of the Chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, Ms. Khadijo Aden Dahir pic.twitter.com/UZsO0A4UiA
— Ministry of Youth and Sports of Somalia (@MoysFGS) August 2, 2023
The Association intends to also push for legal action against the Chair of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and anybody else who was involved in allowing Ali to represent the country. Looks like this is far from over, but maybe Somalia will have the chance to send a worthy runner in two years.
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