Nigeria’s Favour Ofili was in tears after storming to the final of the 200m race in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Ofili secured the second automatic qualification spot in Monday’s race, rekindling Nigeria’s medal hopes at the Games.

She achieved a season’s best of 22.05 seconds, finishing behind St Lucia’s Julien Alfred – the 100m champion – who clocked 21.98 seconds. The United States’ Mary Long came in third with a time of 22.30 seconds.

Ofili is the first Nigerian to reach this milestone since Mary Onyali, who competed in the women’s 200m final at the Atlanta 1996 Games in the US. Born in 2002, six years after Onyali’s achievement, Ofili now aims to surpass her compatriot’s bronze-winning run. The final is scheduled for today, Tuesday, at 8:40 pm.

Ofili’s remarkable performance came after she was omitted from the 100m race due to administrative lapses.

In other news, Blessing Oborududu has advanced to the semi-finals of the 68kg women’s freestyle wrestling. Oborududu defeated Canada’s Linda Morais in the first round with a score of 8-2, and then overcame France’s Koumba Larrouque in the quarter-final with a 6-2 victory. The Nigerian will face Azerbaijan’s Zhumanazarova Meerim later on Monday.