An untrained runner who was selected for a professional 100-metre race has recorded the slowest time ever.
A lot of us will still remember those traumatic days of primary school sports days past; being made to take part in the sprinting or cross country in front of all your pals no matter how much you begged not to, and despite how slow you were.
But this ‘sprinter’ was sent to run on a much more global stage, at the 31st Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China.
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Representing Somalia, Nasra Abukar Ali was entered into the race.
In a now viral video, it's clear from the get go that she didn’t belong among the fellow runners as she took off from the line-up in the country’s traditional blue colours.
Many have claimed the entrant should never have been on the track.
As her competitors sped off in front of her, Abukar Ali was quickly left trailing behind.
She actually ended up totally out of the camera shot as it followed the racers plummeting ahead.
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You would be forgiven if you watched the clip and thought she was stuck in slow-mo compared to the other sprinters.
Taking part in the third heat of the 100-metre event, Brazil’s Gabriela Silva Mourao took the edge with a speedy time of 11.58 seconds - almost half of the Somalian’s time.
Abukar Ali clocked a painful 21.81 seconds when she reached the finish line.
The clock had long vanished from the TV screens when she finally made it.
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Oh, and she didn’t exactly sprint over the line, she began casually skipping once she got to the end.
One person shared footage of the race on X (you know, Twitter), asking how the Ministry of Youth and Sports could ‘select an untrained girl to represent Somalia’, adding it ‘reflects poorly on our country internationally’.
Slamming an ‘incompetent government’, she later claimed the choice of runner is ‘corruption’ as the selection of Abukar Ali comes down to ‘nepotism’.
But she did add a ‘good story’, writing that Somalia’s Hasan Ali Idoow has advanced to the finals of the 1500m race at the Games after finishing fourth in his race.
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The user added: “What you expecting? Nepotism; we have good athletes in Somalia but when it comes to [money] is a different story.”
Many couldn’t believe the video ‘is real’, with one user writing: “If this isn’t a skit, I don’t know what else is.”
Another added: “OMG SHE GOT SMOKEDDDDDD.”
Although, one person simply said that ‘everybody deserves a chance’.
LADbible has contacted the Somali Athletics Federation and World University Games for comment.
Topics: Sport, Viral, World News
Jess Battison