Nigeria’s Favour Ofili has qualified for the semifinals of the women’s 200 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 21-year-old sprinter clocked 22.24 seconds to finish first in heat six of the first round of qualifications on Sunday at the Stade de France, Paris.
UK’s Dina Asher-Smith took second place with a time of 22.51 seconds, followed by Gina Bass of Gambia, who finished third. Ofili’s performance placed her as the second fastest overall in the qualification phase, behind only Gabrielle Thomas of the US, who ran 22.20 seconds in the second heat.
Ofili is set to compete in the semifinal heat at 8 pm on Monday.
Her qualification comes amidst recent controversy regarding her omission from Team Nigeria’s women’s 100m list. Ofili has publicly accused the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) of failing to register her for the event, claiming they “took this opportunity from me” and stating that “neither organisation can ever be trusted in the future.”
Meanwhile, Team Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi and Favour Ashe will continue their athletic pursuits on Sunday as they compete in the men’s 100m semifinals, set to begin at 7:05 pm.
Melissa Enoch
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