The fact that the “athlete” participating in the 100 meters race on behalf of Somalia had a belly and had difficulty even while doing the warm-up movements went viral on social media.
During the 31st Summer World University Games held in Chengdu, China, a video of a women’s 100 meters race became the agenda on social media.
The shared videos do not show any records broken, but the image of the Somali athlete, who is reported to have completed the race in 21 seconds, caused a tragicomic scandal.
According to the Somali press, the athlete, whose name is Nasra Abukar Ali, is claimed to have participated in the races with torpedo, and the event is interpreted as a scandal in the country.
The video shows the other female athletes preparing for the race and Ali having trouble even doing that as they take their stances before the start.
He doesn’t look fit, and as soon as the bell rings, the crouching athletes run forward, leaving Ali far behind.
While the other athletes finish the race quickly, the Somali athlete finishes the race as if running in the park.
One Twitter user claimed that the alleged athlete was the nephew of the President of the Somali Athletic Federation. There is similar information in the Somali press.
Somali Olympic Committee sources told African news outlet Horn Examiner that the real reason behind their participation in the country’s international games was not to compete but to help an athlete obtain a Schengen visa and seek asylum in Europe.
Somali Atletizm Federasyonu Başkanının yeğeni olduğu iddia edilen sporcunun 100 metre performansı sosyal medyada gündem oldu.https://t.co/n6PRb85y48 pic.twitter.com/NzP4EKNlii
— NationalTurk (@nationalturkcom) August 2, 2023