Nigerian sprinter Favour Ofili will be among the finalists in the women’s 200-metre race at the Paris 2024 Olympics after she secured the second automatic qualifying spot in the semifinal 1 on Monday.
The 21-year-old, who is participating in her first Olympics, has clearly put behind her the scuffle with the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), after her name was omitted from the list of athletes to represent the country in the 100m event.
Ofili clocked a season’s best time of 22.05 seconds to finish behind newly-crowned women’s 100m Olympic champion Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia, who crossed the line first in a time of 21.98s.
Meanwhile, McKenzie Long of the United States came in third in 22.30s.
Having booked the ticket to the final, Ofili becomes the first Nigerian woman to qualify for the 200m final at the Olympics in 28 years, since the legendary Mary Onyali won bronze in the Atlanta 1996 Games.
First Nigerian to make the Olympic 200m final in 28 years, since Mary Onyali!
Big comeback for Favour Ofili 🇳🇬 after missing out on the 100m due to not being registered by her NOC.#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/LjjI71AyP7
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) August 5, 2024
In the other races, American sprinter Gabby Thomas ran the fastest time across board to win semifinal 2 in the women’s 200m, clocking an impressive 21.86s.
The 27-year-old finished ahead of Great Britain’s past Dina Asher-Smith, who was second in 22.31s, while Helene Parisot of France ran a personal best of 22.55s to claim the third position.
Elsewhere, another American, Brittany Brown, won semifinal 3 in a time of 22.12s, ahead of Great Britain’s Daryll Neita, who was second in a time of 22.24s, and Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai, who clocked 22.36s to take third.
The final of the women’s 200m at the Paris Olympics will take place on Tuesday, August 6, at 9:40pm local time (8:40pm Nigerian time).
FULL LIST OF WOMEN’S 200M FINALISTS
Gabby Thomas – USA
Julien Alfred – Saint Lucia
Favour Ofili – Nigeria
Brittany Brown – USA
Daryll Neita – Great Britain
Dina Asher-Smith – Great Britain
McKenzie Long – USA
Jessika Gbai – Ivory Coast
