Samia Yusuf Omar competes for Somalia in the Beijing Games in 2008 in the 200m heats [GALLO/GETTY] 
 
 "It was the happiest moment we ever had because we took our flag. Although she came in last place, several seconds behind the other competitors, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says it is extraordinary that she was able to take part at all. The head of Somalia's National Olympic Committee confirmed to the BBC that she had died but did not say how. Her family and neighbours received her with pride, but there was little other fanfare. She had grown up and trained in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, facing war, poverty, a complete lack of athletics facilities and prejudice from some quarters against women participating in sports. According to al-Jazeera, there were no guarantees that she would be accepted to train at the stadium in Addis Ababa - it was dependent on her running times and permission from the Ethiopian Athletics Federation. Her sister Hodan, who lives in Finland, told the BBC's Newsday programme that Samia had left Addis Ababa and first travelled to Sudan and then up to Libya. 'We will not forget' 
 
 In October 2010, the runner is reported to have moved to Ethiopia in search of a coach to help her train for the London 2012 Olympics. Runner Samia Yusuf Omar was trying to cross from Libya to Italy in April when the boat she was travelling in sank, according to Italian media.
– A Somali Olympic female runner drowned as she tried to emigrate to Italy on a boat from Libya, Italian media revealed yesterday. The boat sank as Samia Yusuf Omar, 21, made her desperate bid to escape her African home in April, reports the BBC. Samia faced death threats from the Islamist militia al-Shabab and supporters, who oppose female athletes, when she returned to Mogadishu after the 2008 Olympics, according to al-Jazeera. She moved to Ethiopia to train for the 2012 Games in London, but drowned in the spring. She came in last in the 200-meter event in Beijing, but was considered an impressive runner who managed to make it to the 2008 Olympics despite having almost no formal training.