Somali Runner Mocked as ‘World’s Slowest Sprinter’ Says She Volunteered to Race After No One Else Stepped Up

After a Somali athlete went viral for coming in dead last in the 100-meter sprint at the World University Games in China, the athlete shared that she volunteered to represent her country in the event after no other athletes stepped up.

Nasra Abukar Ali, 20, blamed a lack of preparation, physical fitness, and inexperience after she finished the race in 21.81 seconds on Tuesday — a full 10 seconds behind the winner of the event, as reported by TRT Afrika.

In a video interview posted to Facebook with journalist Munasar Mohamed, Ali said she volunteered after her country had no athletes for that event. “In Somalia, many women are scared of taking part in sporting activities. When the 100 meters race category failed to attract female participants, I volunteered to represent my country in China,” Ali told Mohamed.

The 20-year-old said she only had one month to prepare and was “not physically fit to sprint fast.” Ali claimed that Sports Minister Mohamed Bare Mohamud knew of her participation, but he said that an investigation found that Ali was not registered with the National Olympic Committee.

Viral video of Ali’s race has been viewed more than 68 million times on Twitter, leading Mohamud to issue an apology and call the situation an embarrassment, as reported by Mothership.

In the video interview, Ali said, "I am now the laughing stock because I did not win. Had I won, they (the government) would never have disowned me."

While Ali said she volunteered for the race, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, Khadijo Aden Dahir, has been accused of abusing her power in order to get Ali into the games, as reported by the BBC. The Association of Somali Universities said in a press release that it had not appointed anyone to compete in the race.

The relationship between Dahir and Ali has not been disclosed.