Nigeria’s Favour Ofili has qualified for the 200m finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With her win, the 21-year-old becomes the first Nigerian to qualify for the N200m finals in 28 years. Nigeria was last represented in the event’s final at the games in Atlanta ’96 by Mary Onyali who finished the final with a bronze medal.
Ofili finished in 22.05s behind newly crowned 100m Olympic champion, Julien Alfred who ran 21.98s. USA’s McKenzie Long finished third in 22.30s.
Born in 2002, six years after Onyali achieved the feat, Ofili will be aiming to better her compatriot’s bronze-winning run at the final which is billed for Wednesday, August 7 by 8:40 pm.
Ofili’s record-breaking feat comes just days after she was omitted from the 100m race due to a registration error by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria despite qualifying.
Watch a video of her race below.
Congratulations to our star girl Favour Ofili and Team Nigeria! She’s now in the 200m women’s final, we are rooting for you Queen! #PARIS2024 pic.twitter.com/4hxbMrYoyp
— Astra 💫 (@GideonToba) August 5, 2024