Favour Ofili Falls Short of Paris 2024 Olympics Bronze Medal by 0.04 Seconds

Favour Ofili Falls Short of Paris 2024 Olympics Bronze Medal by 0.04 Seconds

  • Team Nigeria’s Favour Ofili failed to finish on the podium in the finals of the women’s 200-metre event at the Paris Olympics
  • The 200-metre final featured a strong field of elite athletes including Julien Alfred vying to etch their names in the Olympic history
  • The 21-year-old Ofili became Nigeria’s first athlete in 28 years to participate in the fina200-metre category final in the Olympics

Favour Ofili missed out on a podium finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics 200 metre final.

The Nigerian sprinter narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing just four one-hundredths of a second behind third-place Britanny Brown.

Favour Ofili at Paris Olympics
Favour Ofili of Team Nigeria looks on during the 200-metre semi-final of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 05, 2024. Image: Adam Pretty.
Source: Getty Images

According to data courtesy of worldathletics.org, the United States’ Gabrielle Thomas finished in first place with a staggering 21.83 seconds, ahead of Julien Alfred, who clinched second with 22.08 seconds.

Read also

Paris 2024: Favour Ofili releases statement after missing out on medal in Women's 200m event

However, the fight for the bronze medal was nothing short of a photo finish, with United States’ Brittany Brown, Great Britain’s duo of Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita, and Nigeria’s Ofili being separated by just four one-hundredths of a second.

A podium finish would have secured Ofili’s place in Olympic history as Nigeria’s first 200-metre medalist since Mary Onyali in 1996.

Despite falling short, the 21-year-old can take pride in being Nigeria’s first finalist in the 200-metre in 28 years.

Ofili misses out on 100-metre race

Unfortunately, the Nigerian sprinter missed out on participating in the 100-metre category.

Some lapses from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) meant the 21-year-old Ofili would miss out on the 100-metre dash.

The 100-metre category was won by Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who took gold ahead of the United States' Sha'Carri Richardson.

Read also

Nigerians heartbroken by video of Favour Ofili crying after narrowly missing out on Olympic medal

Ofili Opens Up on Making Olympic History

The young Ofili, who spoke to the press prior to the final, as captured by Brila.net, detailed that her primary ambition at the Olympics was to claim a medal for her country.

Nigeria still has several chances of clinching gold medals at the ongoing Paris showpiece, with Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor all securing their places in the final of the long jump event.

Favour Ofili equals Nigeria's Olympic record

Legit.ng in another report detailed Ofili equalled a Nigerian Olympic record.

The 21-year-old became the first Nigerian sprinter to qualify for the 200-metre semi-final since Mary Onyali in the 1996 Olympics Games in Atlanta, USA.

Onyali capped her historic outing with a bronze medal finish at the historic showpiece.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Ero Samson avatar

Ero Samson (Sports Editor) Samson Ero is a sports journalist with a track record of over six years in the Nigerian media industry. He has honed his skills at EPL Partners Nigeria Limited and Transsion Holdings, where he covered various sports stories and general news working as Content Operation Specialist and Content Coordinator. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2023. Reach him via email at ero.samson@sportsbrief.com.