The chairwoman of Somalia’s athletics federation has been suspended amid claims the female runner, who clocked 21.81 seconds in the 100m at the FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China, is her niece.

According to the Daily Mail, Somalia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports accused Khadija Aden Dahir of ‘abuse of power’ and ‘nepotism’ after Nasra Abubakar Ali’s time was over 10 seconds slower than her fellow competitors.

Footage of her performance – which showed how she skipped over the line – incited a torrent of criticism on social media. The untrained 20-year-old was not even in the frame as the rest of the field crossed the line.

Somali Sports Minister Mohamed Barre Mohamud indicated that an investigation into Ali’s selection had been launched and said Dahir has ‘engaged in acts of abuse of power, nepotism, and defaming the name of the nation’.

The minister subsequently ordered his nation’s Olympic Committee to suspend Dahir from her post after disgruntled social media users claimed Ali is the chairwoman’s niece and unearthed a Facebook post in which the athletics federation official appeared to congratulate Ali on her graduation.

Mohamed then said the investigation conducted with Somalia’s National Olympic Committee revealed Ali was neither a sportsperson, nor a runner.

He also revealed that investigators had discovered that there was no registered Somali University Sports Association, suggesting documents had been falsified to allow Ali to compete at the Games.

“The Ministry… firmly declares its intention to pursue legal action against both the Chairman of the Athletics Federation of Somalia and individuals responsible for the falsification of the Somali University Sports Association,” a statement read.

The Ministry also published a signed and stamped document on its social media feed showing the findings of the investigation and recommending Dahar’s removal as chairwoman of the nation’s athletics federation.