Nasra Abubakar Ali, the Somali 'athlete' who went viral after completing the 100-meter sprint in 21 seconds at the World University Games in China on Wednesday, has finally addressed the issue.
Nasra claims she was suffering from a sprained leg at the time. Ali expressed surprise in a statement that she was widely chastised for her poor performance, although she was purportedly wounded.
“Somalis do not deserve to be represented in a running competition, I ran with a sprained leg, but I am criticized,” she said.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports should step down. It's disheartening to witness such an incompetent government. How could they select an untrained girl to represent Somalia in running? It's truly shocking and reflects poorly on our country internationally. pic.twitter.com/vMkBUA5JSL
Did you read this?
— Elham Garaad ✍︎ (@EGaraad_) August 1, 2023
Ms Ali is shown standing around passively in the film as other female athletes prepare for the race by prancing around, squatting, and so on.
As soon as the buzzer sounds, the other girls sprint forward, leaving Ms. Ali behind, who now appears to be casually jogging along, unconcerned.
The Somali athlete is eventually left so far behind that she can still be seen trodding on, slowly flicking around her arms, long after the rest of the field has passed the finish line.
Around 10 seconds after the winner, cameras caught her virtually skipping over the finish line.
Following a contentious incident at the World University Games, Somalia's minister of youth and sports suspended the chairperson of the country's athletics organisation. Nasra Abukar Ali, a female sprinter, competed in the women's 100m race at the tournament in China, but she finished last, taking more than 21 seconds to finish. In reaction to this performance, the minister is preparing to file a lawsuit to address the issue further.
