Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Somali Sprinter's Agonizingly Slow Finish At International Meet Sparks Outrage

Somali Sprinter finishing last in 100-meter race
Guardian Sport/YouTube

Somalia's track and field chair was suspended after an untrained female sprinter finished last by a massive margin in the 100-meter dash at the World University Games in China.

Somalia's Sports Minister issued an apology in response to the public outrage over an amateur runner who was selected to represent the African nation at China's XXXI FISU World University Games. The sprinter lagged far behind and finished last in the women's 100-meter dash.

Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud asked for the nation's Track and Field Chair to be suspended following the controversy after expressing concern the runner's participation was a "misrepresentation and embarrassment" for the country.


The young runner was 18-year-old Somali university student Nasra Ali Abukar. She took 21.81 seconds to complete the sprint long after the other athletes finished.

The qualifying standard for the U.S. women's Olympic 100-meter team is 11.15 seconds.

The slowest recorded time in the same women's sprint at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was 15.26 seconds–which was more than six seconds faster than Ali Abukar's time.

A video of her poor performance went viral with over 19 million views on Twitter–and sparked debate on how a participant with no prior training or racing experience was selected to represent the Federal Republic and allowed to compete over a qualified runner.

Elham Garaad, who shared a clip of the viral video, wrote:

"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."

People didn't believe Ali Abukar was a qualified sprinter.






Mohamud claimed the Ministry knew nothing about Ali Abukar being selected to compete in the race at China's XXXI FISU World University Games.

And then it all made sense.

Online sleuths made claims of nepotism when Ali Abukar was found to be the niece of Somali Athletics President Abdullahi Ahmed Tarabi and Chair of the Athletics Committee Khadija Adan Dahir.

The revealing information prompted the Ministry to issue a separate statement calling for the Somalia Olympic Committee to suspend Dahir.

People were quick to shut down a person who accused commenters of ableism.




Dahir told BBC Somali Ali Abukar went through rigorous training for the last two years.

However, the statement contradicted the one issued by Ali Abukar.

The young student said she had been training for one month.


In response to the backlash and being labeled "the worst athlete in international games," Ali Abukar said:

"Somalis do not deserve to be represented in a running competition."
"I ran with a sprained leg, […] but I still managed to finish the run."

On August 2, the Somali Olympic Committee implemented an order by the Minister to suspend Dahir, citing her with "abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation."

More from Trending

Screenshot of Claudia Sheinbaum; Donald Trump
@davidrkadler/X; Scott Olson/Getty Images

Mexican President Perfectly Mocks Trump With Proposed Name Change For U.S.

After President-elect Donald Trump pitched changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum trolled him in a press conference, giving him a valuable history lesson backed by a very old map.

Earlier, Trump, who bashed Mexico as a “very dangerous place” that was “essentially run by the cartels," said:

Keep ReadingShow less
Kylie Jenner; Demi Moore
Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Michael Buckner/GG2025/Penske Media via Getty Images

Fans Defend Demi Moore After She's Accused Of 'Snubbing' Kylie Jenner At The Golden Globes

Actor Demi Moore won a Golden Globe Sunday night for her astonishing performance as aging aerobics star Elizabeth Sparkle in Coralie Fargeat's body horror film The Substance.

The recognition for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy was Moore's first-ever industry award since emerging as a star in the '80s and eventually becoming one of the highest-paid Hollywood actors by 1995.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anne Hathaway; Jeremy Strong
John Nacion/Getty Images, Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Anne Hathaway's Throwback Joke About Jeremy Strong's Golden Globes Look Is An Instant Classic

Succession star Jeremy Strong made a whimsical fashion statement outfitted in a white turtleneck, mint green velvet suit, and matching bucket hat at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday.

Strong attended the awards ceremony as a nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture nominee for his performance as lawyer Roy Cohn in The Apprentice.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman holding up balloons to celebrate her 24th birthday
Photo by Ana Tavares on Unsplash

People Reveal Their Biggest Regrets From Their 20s

It's reasonable to assume that while a person is growing up, they're going to make some mistakes and even do some things that they'll look back on and wish that they hadn't when they're older.

But one period of time a lot of people find themselves regretting is how they spent their twenties.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nikki Glaser
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Nikki Glaser Reveals Risque Jokes That She Cut From Her Golden Globes Monologue

Hosting the Golden Globes is no easy feat (just ask last year's host Jo Koy), and by all accounts comedian Nikki Glaser did a bang-up job at this year's ceremony.

Glaser has never been one to shy away from controversial jokes, and the Globes were no exception.

Keep ReadingShow less