One would expect a country to select its strongest and fastest athlete to compete in the tough 100M race.
That however was not the case in Somalia. A video of a girl running a painfully slow race has gone viral on Twitter.
The video shared by Elham Garaad points an accusing finger at athletics officials who did not do due diligence in selecting competent athletes. The video shows the girl getting outraced.
"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," she said in her video.
Netizens have reshared the video countless times, all amused that nepotism goes this far.
The embarrassing incident at the World University Games in China has resulted in the suspension of Khadija Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, the Somali sports ministry said.
Dahir is accused of “abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation” in the international arena, the ministry said in a statement posted on social media. The ministry said the woman in the race is not a runner.
Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud apologized and said his ministry did not know how the 20-year-old was selected to compete in the 100-meter race, the AP reported.
The Association of Somali Universities said in a statement that it did not send any runners to compete in the event. Here are reactions;
@somalianalyst She has never run a day in her life
@OOkheire You know she’s only there for the free vacation probably the ministers niece who has a beauty saloon in xamar waaye 😅
@HodoMure Omg, I literally couldn’t believe it when I saw the video and there isn’t much that surprise me in Somalia anymore. But why embarrass the whole nation this way.
@UnkleAyo Immediately I saw the potbelly, I started laughing.
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