Nigeria’s Favour Ofili recorded a season-best time of 22.24 seconds to win her heat and secure a spot in the semi-final of the women’s 200m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ofili outpaced a competitive field that included Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and Gambia’s Gina Bass-Bittaye.
Her performance placed her second overall, just behind the USA’s Gabrielle Thomas, who clocked 22.20 seconds.
Dina Asher-Smith finished with a time of 22.28 seconds, while Gina Bass-Bittaye completed the race in 22.84 seconds.
This marks Ofili’s debut appearance at the Olympics.
At 21 years old, Ofili faced a significant setback when she was denied the chance to participate in the 100-metre race at the Paris Olympics due to administrative errors by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and the Nigerian Olympic Committee.
Taking to X to express her frustration, she questioned the reliability of both organizations and demanded accountability for the missed opportunity.
In her tweet, she stated, “It is with great regret that I have just been told I will not be competing in the 100 metres at this Olympic Games. I qualified, but those with the AFN and NOC failed to enter me. I have worked for four years to earn this opportunity. For what?”
Responding to the situation, Sports Minister John Owan Enohhe announced an investigation into Ofili’s exclusion from the 100m event.
Enohhe noted that other countries have experienced similar issues but emphasized his focus on Nigeria’s case.
“I have been duly informed that some other countries have similar issues, and these aforementioned bodies do not want to open a floodgate that would become difficult to manage. Howbeit, I am not concerned about other countries. My interest is with my own country Nigeria and who is responsible for the nonlisting of Favor Ofili,” he said.
“Furthermore, I have been briefed that World Athletics submitted, that when the final list was published in July by it, AFN should have called its attention to the omission of Favor Ofili’s name. This still doesn’t address the issue. At what point did her name drop out of the 100m race? Who’s responsible for this? What’s the motivation behind this? What’s the trail of communication from AFN to NOC and to IOC and/or World Athletics?”
