Fartun Abukar Omar is a Somali

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 athlete. She represented Somalia

Somalia at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Despite having no functioning central government, Somalia sent two athletes to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Since the civil war that broke out in the early 1990s, the Somali Olympic Committee has been supported by various factions centered on the capital of Mogadishu...

 at the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, despite her country having been without a government for thirteen years at that time. She took part in the women's 100 metres race, and finished last in her heat, nonetheless achieving a personal best of 14.29 seconds. She was 18 at the time of the event. She had never before run a competition on a track, and drifted into the wrong lane for part of the race. ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 noted that she was the first Muslim

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 woman ever to represent Somalia at any Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

.