By Nuri Aden
The Somali athlete who emerged last at the World University Games in China on Tuesday has blamed ill preparation, lack of physical fitness and inexperience for her poor showing in the 100 metres race.
Nasra Abukar Ali completed the race in 21.81 seconds, a performance that caught the world’s attention, as she fell behind the winner by a whole ten seconds.
On Wednesday, the Somalian government sacked the head of the athletics agency Khadija Adan Dahir after a video clip of Ali’s sprint went viral.
Terming the loss “embarrassing”, Sports Minister Mohamed Bare Mohamud said an investigation established that Ali was not a professional sprinter, and that she had not registered with the National Olympic Committee.
The government official said further investigations had begun to ascertain how Ali ended up on the list of athletes representing Somalia at the World University Games in Chengdu, China.
Volunteered
Ali said she offered herself to represent Somalia at the global competition after the 100 metres race category failed to attract female participants at home.
“In Somalia, many women are scared of taking part in sporting activities. When the 100 metres race category failed to attract female participants, I volunteered to represent my country in China,” Ali told Somali journalist, Munasar Mohamed, in a video interview posted on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The 20-year-old said she had “only one month” to prepare for the competition in China.
“One month is never enough to fully prepare for a racing competition. I was not physically fit to sprint fast,” she said.
Ali said that the sports minister “knew” of her participation at the university games, and that ministry officials even “saw me off” at the Aden Adde International Airport in the capital, Mogadishu.
Laughing stock
“I am now the laughing stock because I did not win. Had I won, they would never have disowned me,” she added.
She said it was “tough competing against seasoned and well-trained athletes.”
According to Ali, a student of Mogadishu-based Jobkey University, she will not be “deterred by criticisms and insults”, and that she is ready “to represent my country when called upon in the future.”
