A Somali sports official has been suspended after an apparently untrained female sprinter represented the African country at an international athletics tournament in China.

Nasra Abukar Ali took more than 20 seconds to finish the 100m race at the World University Games in Chengdu, with footage showing she came last by a considerable distance.

She also appeared to be significantly less physically fit than the other competitors.

Despite being quickly left behind by her rivals, Ali did do a little skip to celebrate when she crossed the finish line.

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Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairwoman of the Somali Athletics Federation, has been suspended amid reports Ali is a relative of hers and was only entered into the contest because of family connections.

Ms Dahir has been accused of abusing her power and defaming Somalia and was suspended following a meeting between the country’s sports ministry and its National Olympic Committee.

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Mohamed Barre Mohamud, Somalia’s minister of youth and sports, has said he does not know how Ali ended up being chosen.

Somalia’s university union said it had not sent any runners to China as part of an official Somali team.

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